Unexpected changes
by M00nlight Shadow
Summary: Everything started with this ridiculous bet that was meaningless and childish. But now with a killer on the loose… maybe this bet could be taken as an advantage, after all Naruto needed all the protection he could get. ItaNaru
1. Chapter 1 Unexpected caller

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

**_Unexpected changes_**

**Chapter 1 – Unexpected caller**

* * *

He was sitting in a cafeteria on the 39th floor in one of the world's biggest buildings in America. His lunch was still untouched. A heavy sigh left his lips. He wasn't even hungry anymore.

His natural blond hair shined brightly when the sunlight touched his hair. It was so inappropriate that the nineteen year old boy was so, confused? Sad? On such a lovely, warm summer day. The young man leaned his head on his knuckle staring at his lunch. He took one little bite not noticing that his ramen was already cold. Normally he didn't like ramen that was already cold, but at this moment he hardly could even taste it. His mind was somewhere else.

He looked at the piece of paper his father left him. If he signed this, his life would surely change for a while, that was for sure.

_God this was so unexpected. _

The conversation with his father, not long ago, left him in shock. Never in his life did he expect this. At first he thought that he was called for something minor.

He focused his eyes on the paper in front of him. It's not that he blamed his father or anything since he _probably_ didn't have a choice either... Well actually he did, they did. But if he didn't cooperate there was a big chance that it would turn out bad for them. He had a week to consider the offer of Uchiha Fugaku.

Still... he never thought that his father would be so reckless. The blond boy wanted to groan in frustration. Really his father could be such a idiot sometimes and not to forget childish! At first he thought his father was making a joke, he always makes stupid jokes... terrible ones actually. The blond boy smiled a bit at the thought of that, but it quickly vanished from his pale face. Then he actually thought that his father meant to scare him. And if that were really his only intentions it sure was working. It was when his blue eyes. Naruto noticed the serious look on his father's face.

It was all because there was a bet. Naruto just wanted to rip the paper apart and throw it at his father. Damn he was such an _idiot! _This morning everything was just fine.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed heavily.

Somehow he just couldn't make up his mind.

* * *

_-That morning-_

_Ring!... ring!...ring!_

The blond boy reached for his phone from his bed, pushing one of his pillows off the bed in the process. He yawned while he spoke.

"Yeah?" He said a little too loud.

The caller had a familiar low but pleasant voice.

"It's dad." The voice was very cheerful for this time of the day. He stole a glance from his clock on the little wooden table next to his bed. It was almost seven in the morning and his father never called this early.

Not that he called everyday or something. He still would see him two or maybe three days a week if he was lucky. He always came home on Friday's and the weekends. On the other days he would call after school and ask him how his day was and what he would do for the rest of the day. It was annoying sometimes but he probably just wanted to be a caring father or something.

They did have things in common and one of them was a big problem for the both of them; they always sleep in… and because of that they were almost always late, late for school, late for work, etcetera, it was a bad habit that both the school and work had accepted after a while. In exchange, Naruto had to stay a half-hour longer in school and clean the tables in his last class. Yeah it was very stupid but after awhile it didn't matter anymore. Sometimes it was even fun. Every day after school, one student was chosen to clean the tables. In other words Naruto's class had it easy because it was officially Naruto's job.

So Naruto and the students who were cleaning had a lot of fun. They would talk about stupid things or exchange jokes, including his dad's bad jokes, but not always of course. It depended on who was chosen to clean up. Because of course, not everyone can be that social or fun. It was just a half hour anyway, sometimes a little longer.

Naruto smiled. "Hey dad!" He yawned again. "Not wanting to be a total ass, but did you notice how early it was?"

It was Saturday. He always liked Saturdays. But who didn't. No school, more sleep, further more; he can do whatever the hell he wanted and he still has a day ahead of him where he can do that all over again, but he had to work on Sunday, fortunately that was in the evening, so he still got the whole day for himself. God he loved weekends.

"Sorry Naruto." He laughed.

"Aren't you supposed to be home?" He said while lifting an eyebrow. Then a goofy grin appeared on his sleepy face. "Oh wait I get it. I bet you're here and calling from your room and you want to ask me if I can bring you breakfast? Come on dad that is getting old."

A laugh was heard on the other side of the phone.

"Do you think that your old man can be that boring?"

"Surprise me." The blond said in a sarcastic tone as he stood up and walked to the mirror that was hanging on the wall next to his wooden table. The mirror was big enough to see two full-grown men in it. He had his favorite black boxers on. With his free hand he scratched his naked chest. You could see from the dark color under his eyes the lack of sleep. He looked such a mess… His hair was looking messy and he felt still tired.

The blond brushed a few blond hairs away. His hair had grown and it wasn't that spiky anymore when he was still a kid but it was still short. He disliked the feeling of long hair. It always felt so sticky on his neck.

"Naruto I felt asleep on my work." He cleared his throat. "Busy week you know and it's still ongoing so... I think I can't get home this weekend." He laughed nervously but it died away quickly, obviously trying to hide it.

_Suspicious_ thought Naruto. The last time he was talking this nervously was when he accidentally left the door from his balcony open so that his homework flew all across the room and some of it flew out into the big city to never be found again... well at least not by Naruto. That time really pissed him off because he worked all week to finish that report.

"Nah, it's cool," He laughed while scratching the back of his head. "I can entertain myself. Besides I can always call somebody if I'm really bored."

Naruto and his father still lived with each other but only on the weekends and Friday. His father said it was good for him to have the place to himself. Naruto's dad also had a small place for his own near his work. They lived like this for two years now.

But Naruto was actually a little sad because he was looking forward to seeing his dad again. They were supposed to go out of the city the whole weekend. It was not the first time he blew things off. Naruto respected his father. He was a hard worker, sometimes even a bit childish but overall a funny and a charming man, (even with the terrible jokes) and a very good father. It was hard after the death of Naruto's mother. Naruto was almost four when it happened. But they both pulled through.

Naruto's mother was buried a few miles away from the city, close to where they used to life. She actually never liked the city. Uzumaki Kushina was a beautiful woman and mother who always loved nature. She loved the blue sky and the beautiful songs the bird made. But because of Minato's job they moved to the city when Naruto was two. And there also weren't schools near where they used to life. Kushina was sad when they moved but she did it for the two she loved the most.

Naruto smiled to himself. Thank god he still had photos of her. Once in a while Naruto would look through the album seeing her mother smiling warmly to the camera. Watching those pictures almost felt like she was still alive.

Naruto doesn't remembered that much of her but dad told him that because she loved nature with all her heart, she walked a lot in the park with Naruto, and if Minato had time he would be there too. His head turned and looked at the framed photo on the little wooden table next to his bed. The sun was shining that day and the leaves of the trees were a beautiful green. In other words it was a nice summer day. Kushina was on her knees, smiling and hugging little Naruto, on the fresh green grass. Naruto laughed while looking up to his mom and Minato was kneeling beside Kushina, one hand on her shoulder while smiling at Naruto. You could say the perfect little family, if it weren't for that accident.

"I'm sorry son. I'll make it up to you." There was a sad tone in his voice…

_He was really sorry_.

Today was a sad day, the day that his mother passed away fifteen years ago. That's why they planned this weekend to go out of the city and visit his mother's grave, and revisit memories from back then and doing stuff they used to do when they lived there. They did that every year. But this year it was going to be different.

Naruto puts his blue jeans on with two hands while holding his phone between his head and shoulders close to the neck.

"I already told you its fine. We can always go next weekend." Naruto said after an awkward silence.

It was quiet again for a moment. Naruto waited patiently for his answer. Then his dad broke the silence between them.

"Fine, we'll do that."

"Okay then, bye dad." After a moment Naruto raised an eyebrow. He didn't answer back.

"...Dad? Is everything okay? Is there something you want to tell me?"

_Again silence_.

"...Yeah actually there is. Well co-... oh wait didn't you have to work at the restaurant today?"

Naruto sighed. "No dad, that's tomorrow. The same as always when I started six months ago. What's going on dad?" Naruto asked worried.

"Oh yeah I forgot," There was that weird nervous laugh again. "Well since you aren't doing anything could you come to my work today, for lunch?" Naruto frowned a bit. "It's my treat." He added quickly.

Okay, this was unusual... Naruto thought. "Uhm, yeah sure dad. What time?"

"Is twelve o'clock okay with you?"

"Yeah. But what is this all about?"

"I'll tell you when we have lunch okay? Bye son."

"Bye da-..." After Naruto said bye his dad already hung up. "Dad…"

Naruto sat himself on his bed. He puts his phone on the table where it came from, let out a heavy sigh and slowly lowered himself backwards on his bed. _Okay that was weird._ He thought. The blond felt the soft sheets beneath him. God he loved his bed.

* * *

_-thud-_

"Ouch! What the-..." Naruto opened his sleepy eyes and saw his ceiling. He fell out of bed._ Damn not again…_

That happened sometimes since Naruto moved a lot in his sleep. His hands were rubbing his eyes then he placed one behind his head. He groaned. _Shit that hurts..._ Well he was awake now anyway. Not a pleasant way to wake up but hey, better then drinking bitter tea that you will taste all morning.

_Morning?_

While he turned his head to look at the clock, his head screamed. But his head wasn't the only thing that was screaming.

"Oooh shit! I only have forty minutes until its twelve o'clock!" He cursed softly and quickly got up, only to fall again because his feet were tangled in his sheets. He cursed again this time a bit louder.

He gathered his socks, his sneakers and his red sleeveless t-shirt. His jeans were already on. He was done in a moment. Then he took a black sweater from the big white closet across from his bed. The zipper of the sweater was left open. Then he quickly took the necklace that he gained from his mother when he was three. Of course he didn't remember that but he heard it from his dad.

The cord was short and black and there was also a little silver fox face pendant. The eyes were red. There was also a bracelet that also belonged with the necklace. It was silver with the same fox face on it and after every millimeter of silver there was a black vertical stripe. You could make it bigger and smaller. Pretty handy, if it weren't for that it wouldn't fit anymore since he used to have narrow wrists.

It looked pretty cute. Not that a nineteen old male student actually would wear it bur he didn't care. The necklace was precious to him. So he wouldn't care what others would say about it. Like hell they knew how much meant to him.

When Naruto was done he looked into the mirror quickly checked his hair. He looked at his eyes. Many said he looked a little feminine because of his big sparkling eyes. The blond felt really annoyed when they said that. He felt like he was a girl at those times. Yet he also took that as a complement because he had the same eyes like his mother. But of course that wasn't the only thing. He looked a lot like his father. He had the same hair color and the same nose for example.

He reached the small table to get his watch, his phone and his wallet.

It took him eight minutes. He mentally cheered for himself as he was usually very slow when he just woke up. Then he made haste through the hall and then through the living room to the kitchen. He put an apple in his mouth so he could use both hands to find the key for his bike.

His home was on the 26th floor so he had quite a view from his large windows. His home had a very modern décor. He had two couches that had a warm white color especially now the sun was shining so bright. There was also a fitting white chair with them and a low light blue table between the couches with the remote controller on it. When Naruto walked out of the hall to the living room he would first see the back of his wide flat screen TV. You could also see the medium kitchen straight ahead. Naruto found it actually kind of boring sometimes. Modern can feel so empty sometimes. This was of course his father's idea, he liked modern things. You could say he would go with the flow.

After a few minutes he found the keys by kneeling in front of the couch and looked under it. _How the hell did they get there?_ He thought. Really now, sometimes he would find his stuff on the weirdest places.

Once he opened the front door he almost bumped into someone. Naruto gasped so that the apple in Naruto's mouth fell but he quickly caught it with his right hand. It was a young man with short and spiky brunette hair and dark eyes. He was a bit taller than Naruto. There were two thick red stripes on each side of his cheek that went down his cheekbones. It was a weird tattoo in a weird place. It was something only _he_ would do.

"Kiba?" Naruto said in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Kiba knew what day this was. He knew that Naruto would be leaving this weekend with his dad to visit his mother's grave. He actually came to say goodbye cause he was around anyway. But he also looked a little confused when Naruto actually bumped into him with such haste.

The brunette smiled and laughed. "What yah think I'm doing here? It's Saturday, it's still early… well more like very early for you. I'm bored and I was near your house so… what else could I do?" He shrugged while shaking his head. Naruto sighed.

Kiba was Naruto's best friends and his classmate. He was known for his annoyingness and his big mouth. Almost like Naruto, but worse. Besides that he was always there when you needed him, at least for Naruto. They met when Naruto first got to 7th grade. And he was actually nervous because a lot of people said that there were many mean people in middle school. He didn't like mean people, and like many other kids, he pretended to be cool by being a clown all the time. Just thinking about those times made him feel uneasy. He really was a unsure kid back then

Kiba noticed his clown _act_ and one day he walked up to him, asked him why he was pretended to be such a clown. Naruto was really surprised or maybe even shocked that day. Of course he tried to make him understand that he was always like that. Kiba just laughed at him then. Being the class clown you get used to laughing. But this time it was different. Kiba patted his head, Naruto was pouting because of that. It made Kiba laugh again. The blond boy was about to say something but was cut off by Kiba.

"Hey! I have a PlayStation at home. Wanna come after school? My mom bakes great cookies!" He said with a big smile.

Naruto smiled warmly at this and his deep blue eyes were shining with joy. Never had anyone asked him to come and play with him at their home. Something in that moment changed Naruto.

"Hey nice necklace." Kiba pointed to the little fox head. Naruto blushed a bit and was trying to hide it by looking at his feet.

"It's from my mom." He answered shyly.

Kiba nodded.

"Oh, and you've got a bracelet with it. A little girly but nice." He smirked at seeing Naruto's pout again.

"It's not girly!" Naruto shouted angrily.

He couldn't help it. There was something about this little blond that made him want to keep teasing him. "Oh come on man, you can wear this when you're five or six years old. Or…" He smirked again. "You're secretly a girl."

Naruto was about to turn around but was stopped by a hand that grabbed his upper arm. It wasn't a painful grip.

"Just kidding, just kidding. You know you could always ask your mother to buy a new one. Something manlier." He snickered, but after a second he looked confused. Confused that Naruto didn't face him but looked the other way and also didn't answer.

"I can't." He said after a while. It was more of a whisper, but Kiba heard it. He always had good ears.

"You don't have to be shy of your mother man. Why can't you ju-"

"Because she's dead!_"_

Kiba looked shocked at back then. He didn't expect that answer. Naruto had turned his head to him and he looked angry and sad at the same time. Tears were threatening to fall. A few people close by turned their heads to them.

After that, Kiba apologized to Naruto. To Kiba's surprise he accepted it quickly. He learned that day that Naruto was actually a very sensitive boy, maybe even a little shy. Naruto could be a great actor. They still got to play at Kiba's house on the PlayStation and ate a lot of cookies. Since that day they were friends. And they actually had a lot in common. Naruto wasn't the class clown anymore.

Kiba never teased Naruto about is necklace or bracelet again and if anyone would, Kiba would kick their ass.

The brunette was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his friend speak. "Well sorry Kiba, but I have to meet my dad at work. And I still got only a half hour to get there." Naruto said fast.

Kiba frowned. "Well this is a first." He laid his finger on his chin. "Sounds to me someone needs a drivers license here." Kiba said while winking at the blond.

"Yeah, yeah I know." Looking at the floor. Then he saw his watch. Time sure flew by.

"Shit."

Kiba waved his keys in front of his face. "Need a ride?" He said with an annoying smile.

* * *

**A/N:**

Okay this is my very first fanfiction so don't be mean :3

One of my favorite characters in Naruto are: Naruto and Itachi. So I thought 'Why don't I just pair them up?' … yeah stupid reason actually.

English isn't my first language so sorry if there were any noobie mistakes

Yeah not much action in this chapter but I'm building up the story. So hope I don't bore you!

Yeah I like Kiba. In this story he's like a big brother to Naruto. But you know brothers they can be very annoying sometimes

So R&R and tell me if this was a good start xD see yah!


	2. Chapter 2 A promise A bet

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow

**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 2 – A promise is a promise. **

**A bet is a bet**

**

* * *

**

Damn! Naruto was tired after the whole way down. The elevators were defect today. _Lucky me,_ he thought. Things like this always happened to him. He was actually wondering why Kiba wasn't tired from the way up all to the 26th floor. Well, he always was good at gym like Naruto was but only better, but not in all things. They walked through the glass door, which had stainless steel around it.

Kiba laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Wait here I'll get my car," after he said that, he ran towards the underground parking garage. Naruto smiled.

_Yes, he always was there when you needed him. __And yeah… He really needed a driving license. But he actually was very lazy and he was afraid he would fail. _

He looked around. Many people were walking, cars were hooting, children were crying or screaming because they wouldn't get what they wanted from their parents. Dogs were barking to each other, furthermore this was a regular Saturday. Nothing would ever change here in the city.

After a while, Kiba came into sight. He had a red VW Passat. Naruto actually knew nothing about cars. He mentally shrugged. You can't expect that all boys are interested in cars.

Kiba stopped a few metres from him and waved at him to get into the car. He didn't need to tell him that twice. He ran to Kiba's car and opened the door with a fast swing and jumped in.

"Hey, hey! Relax man." Kiba said annoyed. Then he poked his upper arm, "If you break the door you're paying."

Naruto shrugged. "Well if the door breaks that fast then this is a shitty car," he said while he fastened his seatbelt.

"Hey, there's nothing bad about my car all right. If I hadn't had this shitty piece of junk, you would be standing out a lot in the rain you moron." Yeah that was true. Naruto owned Kiba a lot. He turned left and, after a few hundred metres, he stopped for a stoplight. Kiba looked at his clock in his car, 11:48. _Shit_. They took too long getting down from Naruto's apartment and getting the car. An irritated groan left his lips. Naruto noticed this.

"Shouldn't I be the one to be doing that?"

Kiba looked at him for a second then his attention was on the road again and shrugged. "Well you're always late anyway." It was green and the car was moving again. "I bet your dad is also late." He snickered, "Later than you."

Naruto huffed. "I don't know. He sounded really weird on the phone." He scratched his nose nervously.

There was an awkward silence between them. Kiba knew that Naruto didn't like to talk if he was feeling uncomfortable. Still, he hated those moments so he would try to get Naruto's mind somewhere else.

"Guess what? Ino asked me out." He almost laughed when he saw Naruto's surprised face. Yup, his mind was definitely somewhere else now. Ino, a nineteen-year-old blond, was in their class too. She was actually a pretty nice girl. She used to be a total bitch but, to everyone's surprise, she changed. She was smart and was good with people. And after that, Naruto found himself to like the girl but he never thought she actually liked Kiba.

"No way... When did she ask?"

"Yesterday," he answered while he drove further.

"Face to face?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yeah of course. It would be lame if she asked me by sending a silly message right?"

"Well, there are people that are really shy, so…"

"Yeah, people like you." He smirked and ruffled through his hair.

Naruto glared at him and tried to fix his hair. "I'm not!"

"You are." Kiba said simply.

_Silence._

"...You're an ass."

"I know." Kiba answered with a smile.

They were almost there. One right turn and Kiba stopped besides the curbed road. They both look at the clock in the car, 12:08. _Damn._ Naruto was busy fighting with the seatbelt while Kiba spoke.

"Well your highness, we're here." He said sarcastically.

"Thanks Kiba."

They looked outside. The building had at least forty-five floors. God he hoped that the elevators were working here. People were walking in and walking out from the high building. SakuQ hang with big letters above the entrance.

Naruto's father became a successful businessman after moving to the city. People often said he had talent. Naruto actually never knew exactly what his dad was doing. Once he tried asking and he just said that it was complicated to explain. He didn't care anyway. He just knew that he liked his job and that was enough for him. He opened the door of the car and said his goodbye to Kiba. But before he could close the door Kiba spoke.

"Hey if you're done, you can call me. We can get lunch."

"By that time I'll have already had lunch."

"Yeah but I won't have," he said, looking sadly at Naruto.

Naruto sighed, irritated, "Fine. I will call okay?"

Kiba nodded and smiled again. "Good luck."

Naruto closed the door. Kiba drove away quickly after that.

'_Good luck with what?' _

* * *

Yes, there was a god. The elevators were working. He instantly pushed on number 39. His dad worked at the 39th floor. The elevator was nice and big. When you walked in, you saw there was a little wooden bench and, behind it, a mirror. There was a dark red carpet on the floor that also looked very nice.

The elevator stopped sometimes to let people in or out. Some people knew Naruto because of his dad. He greeted them with a smile and nod. A lady asked him if he was related to Uzumaki Minato. He nodded. "I'm his son." The lady smiled and said that he almost was his clone. Naruto took that as a compliment.

Finally, when the elevator stopped at the 39th floor, a little bell rang and the doors shoved open. Naruto stepped out and looked around. He didn't come here often so he tried to remember which way it was to the cafeteria. After some time, he remembered. He took a left turn. Several doors passed by and at the end of the hall he turned right. He could see the word _cafeteria _above the entrance. He walked faster. At the entrance he looked around. The cafeteria was lighted by daylight trough the windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling. The lights would only go on when it was night.

Several people were already eating their lunch and talking about work or other stuff. Then he saw, near a window, a little round table where a man sat with blond hair. He wore a typical _boring_ business suit. Even his dad didn't like the suit_. _His jacket hung over his chair so you could see his white undershirt.

Their eyes met and the older blond man smiled, waving at him. Naruto did the same and made his way to his dad while looking at his watch, 12.19. It took eleven minutes because of that damn elevator. While he reached the table he sat on the opposite side to his dad.

"Hey dad," He smiled.

Minato shook his head. "Always late uh Naruto? Well… I expected it anyway."

Naruto just shrugged.

After that, a cup of ramen was shoved under him. Naruto looked surprised and Minato smiled. _What timing. _It was precisely ready when Naruto got here. Talking about scary, his dad knew him too well. He didn't eat it right away cause it was still too hot for his taste.

So he looked straight into his father's eyes.

"So… everything okay here dad?"

His father hesitated first to answer his question.

"Sort of," he scratched behind his neck. He always did that when he was nervous, because he did the same. Naruto knew something was wrong. Did he find another woman? Did he want to move again? Fired? No definitely not the last one that was almost impossible. This company needed him. So what else could it be? He definitely hoped not it was the first one. Why? He didn't know.

"...I bet your wondering why I asked you here." He took a deep breath.

Naruto frowned. Of course he wanted to know.

"Okay this isn't going to be easy for me to tell so please just hear me out okay?" Then ask questions, all right?"

Naruto nodded once, slightly taken back by his words.

Minato sighed. "Look then and again we have… you know, company trips. The last one was yesterday. That was also the reason why I wasn't home last night. But you knew that." Naruto nodded again.

"Well the one I had yesterday was a little different from normal. Mostly other companies will join us too. Like the company; Sullaka, or the Matakie, the Suzuki or the… Uchiha." Naruto noticed the hollow tone in his dad's voice by mention the name of that last company. Minato continued.

"So this time it was just plain bowling in _the Basements_." Naruto knew that place. He bowled there sometimes with Kiba, Lee and Gaara. The last two were also on his school but in another class.

"You know how it goes; a couple of drinks then some jokes then some drinks etc." Minato picked his glass from the table and drank a few drops of water then he spoke again.

"I am good at bowling but Uchiha Fugaku was too. Somehow we have always been rivals." He laughed. "Like you are with Sasuke," Naruto blinked. That was indeed true. Since high school they were always been rivals, especially at gym. Sasuke was an arrogant bastard, especially now he'd got his own little band. But sometimes, when people weren't watching, he turned out to be a complete other person to Naruto. Him and his stupid Uchiha pride.

"So… Fugaku and I made a bet and that's where it all started." Minato cleared his throat.

Naruto didn't like where this was going.

"You know one of important motto's of the Uchiha right Naruto?"

Naruto thought about it and then nodded. He had heard it some couple of time from Sasuke during the gym class.

"A promise is a promise. A bet is a bet." He answered.

Minato nodded. He also knew that the son of Fugaku was on Naruto's class. Fugaku always said that a lot against Minato so he expected his son to do the same, guess he was right.

"I guess I will tell first what happened an hour before that bet began. Many people that night wanted to go home early because the next day was weekend and everybody wanted to see their sons and daughters again. And they wouldn't want go home seeing like a drunken fool or wake up like a total zombie. So, like I said, many left. Some people had a bowling competition; others were chatting and drinking at the bar. Just like those people that stayed, Fugaku and I stayed too. Fugaku stayed with four other people from his company. And I stayed with two people from my company. My boss left early with his wife."

He looked at Naruto for a moment. His eyes were still fixed on him and he still looked confused, but they were getting there, although Minato didn't want to.

He continued.

"So I was sitting at the bar with those two people that stayed with me. I had a fun time. They told stupid jokes I told… you know terrible jokes," he winked at his son and Naruto smiled a little. "Drank, jokes, drank, jokes and so on…"

Naruto knew his father was fun to go out with. He wasn't an alcoholic or anything; on some nights he just drank more and hearing the last thing, this was one of those nights.

"Then suddenly, Fugaku walked up to me and asked if I wanted to have a bowling competition with me. You could see that Fugaku had also drunk a couple of beers like me. Anyway I accepted his challenge. The people who had stayed with Fugaku and me watched us so none of would use any sneaky tricks or so, like letting someone trip or something."

Naruto listened to his father, completely forgetting his ramen.

"We were at our last throw. I had already thrown and had a pretty high score, not as high as usual but high enough. I was bound to win even if Fugaku had a strike. Fugaku didn't like to lose. He was about to throw when he stopped himself to throw his last ball of the competition. He turned around with a grin on his face."

_"Hey Uzumaki?"_

_Minato looked at him. "Yes?"_

_"Let's make a bet to make things a little more interesting."_

_Minato raised an eyebrow. "A bet?"_

_"Yes."_

"_What kind of bet?"_

_"Uhm… Don't know." Yes the alcohol was getting him, thought the blond man._

_Suddenly, the Uchiha called out one of his men then looked at his rival and urged him to do the same. Minato frowned at this but did it anyway with a wave of his hand._

_When they stood next to each other, Fugaku laid his bowling ball back and walked to his suitcase to find something. It was strange to Minato that Fugaku even had his suitcase with him when this was a company trip, not a business trip. Company trips were for having fun._

_It looked like Fugaku had found his things. He had two pens in one hand and, in the other hand, two blank sheets. He showed it to Minato, who still looked confused, and to the people that stayed with them. He walked to the two people and gave one sheet and one pen to the man who was called forth by him and the other sheet and pen was giving to other the guy._

"_These are going to be contacts. They're not real of course, yet."Minato didn't like the sound of his tone, especially when he said the word 'yet'._

"_Those two are going to write a contract. If I win, you have to sign my contract and throw away your contract because it will be useless anyway, and if I lose, I will have to sign your contract and throw away my contract. See? It's simple as that."_

"_And what's in the contract?" Minato asked._

_The Uchiha pointed to the two. "They will decide."_

_The two men looked a little shocked. They thought that they would have to do writing while the two rivals did the thinking._

_But, before anyone could protest, Fugaku continued. "You always could refuse to sign the contract, but there has to be a negative side in it. Hell I even give you a week's time to make up your mind before you sign it," he said while blinking a few times. He was feeling dizzy because of the alcohol. _

_Fugaku was so full of himself. He'd already thought he'd won. This annoyed Minato to the end._

"_And you'll just have to accept it. It's not like that they would write that you would have to die if you lose. But, of course we are businessmen so there will be a high prize." He laughed low. Minato looked at the drunken fool. He really loved his games… He knew this because Minato had known Fugaku for years. He was his enemy, his rival and in a vague way, his friend. Well back at school he sort of was.._

"_Can't we see it?"_

_Fugaku looked at the blond man. "No. It wouldn't be fun anymore." He laughed softly "Just trust your people like I do with mine. Or… don't you trust them?"_

_Minato blinked. "Of course I do! Our company has the best people that could be trusted," he said with a smile, or was it a smirk? Fugaku narrowed his eyes._

"_Fine, whatever you think." He cleared his throat. "I bet I'll manage to throw a single strike right here right now. If that happens I'll win of course. And if not… I lose. It's simple." He shrugged. _

_All eyes were on Minato. The blond was thinking._

_He knew Fugaku was close to getting drunk. He looked at him for a second. Fugaku drank another beer in one gulp. They both knew there were good but both of them hadn't even thrown one strike in the whole game. The reason was simple; they'd drunk too much, they were feeling warm and light headed. The blond adult grinned. It was time that he learned his place. He was just dying to see Fugaku fail. Wouldn't that be a sight! So Minato made up his mind._

_Why not? It wasn't like anyone would get hurt. Well except for Fugaku maybe. He snickered and Fugaku noticed, raising an eyebrow while trying to stand straight. It was amusing to see. There was no chance that the Uchiha would throw a strike in his condition. _

"_And I bet that you won't succeed. So go ahead and try."_

_Fugaku smirked, "Finally! I thought I would have to stand here all night." He looked at the two men who still had their sheets and pens in their hands._

"_Now gentlemen," he clapped his hands. "Make this evening worth remembering."_

_The two men looked at each other. One of them spoke. "Can we discuss this with our colleagues?"_

_The Uchiha mentally groaned and waved them away. "Yes, yes, fine, be my guest. Just do it quickly alright, I hate waiting."_

_After that, Fugaku let himself sit next to Minato while the others were discussing. "Afraid to lose my blond friend?"_

_Minato shrugged, "Nah, not at all."_

"_Well you should be prepared then." He smirked, "Because you will lose."_

"_First I have to look to believe it," the blond said smiling._

_They heard a few snickers behind then. Whatever they were planning on writing in the contract, it wouldn't be nice. Fugaku rubbed his eyes. He looked tired. Then he took his glass that already was refilled and held it high._

"_Cheers."_

_Minato did the same. "Cheers."_

_They both drank it in one gulp then they heard a voice, '"Done." Then another, "Here too." _

"_Finally," the Uchiha said. He stood up not before looking at his blond rival. A smirk crept onto his dark face. He walked to get his golden bowling ball with the name Uchiha on it and then he walked to the bowling lane. _

_There was something wrong… Minato felt it. But what?_

"_Ready?" Fugaku asked. But before anyone would answer, he had already thrown._

_Then Minato saw it in a split of a second; the stand, the move, they were professional, almost impossible for an amateur, especially when you were near being drunk… _

_He faked it all. The blond watched in horror. _

_Then he remembered; an Uchiha hated to lose. He played dirty. He knew that he was going to lose when he was supposed to end the competition with his final throw a moment ago but he just didn't want to lose even if it was a little stupid game. So he would make a bet and make sure that he won. Nobody even cared now if he will have a strike or not to earn the last points. It was all about the bet now not the final score of the competition._

_If he didn't feel all that fuzzy, maybe he would have noticed it. God he was so stupid…_

_It was like it was all in slow motion now, everyone watched curiously but Minato already knew the outcome and he wasn't going to like it._

_In a second, they all heard a sound, the sound that would change Minato, the sound of the falling keels one by one. Minato lowered his head. Damn._

_There was cheering from the bar where the people of the company Uchiha sat. Fugaku looked at them for a second then his attention moved to the disappointed blond._

_Minato sighed. Well he wasn't going to be a sore loser so he got up and walked up to him and lifted his hand. Fugaku took his hand and gave it a hard squeeze. Minato took this as a challenge a squeezed harder. The Uchiha flinched a bit. Then the blond spoke._

"_Nice acting Uchiha."_

_The Uchiha didn't response because it was true anyway. He waved the man who was holding his contract to him. The young man quickly came and the blond let out a heavy sigh again._

_Then the blond felt a hand on his shoulder. "Come on. It can't be that bad." Minato seriously doubted that._

_When the contract was in reach, Fugaku grabbed it instantly before looking at it._

_There was an awkward silence. His eyes widened a bit. He looked at the guy next to him. The man gulped. An irritated sigh left his lips…_

_He couldn't go back now. He said he trusted his men and he couldn't go back because his motto would be nothing anymore. But… were his men this stupid? He couldn't wait he was alone with his people. He would give them something to remember…_

_This wouldn't be a benefit for them both but he accepted._

_Uchiha's and their pride…_

_He gave the contract to his blond rival. Minato took it slowly and began to read it._

"…"

"…"

_Eyes widened._

"_WHAT! Oh this has to be a joke right!"_

"_No."_

_Minato looked dumbfounded. _

"_Do you even realised what this says!"_

_"Yes._

_"I'm not letting my child marry your child!"_

_Fugaku just shrugged. "Well I already thought a couple of times that it was time for my son to get married. You can even see it as a company marriage or something." He laughed. "There now we have a link between mine and your company." The Uchiha laughed again like this was all a fun joke. Maybe the alcohol had some influence after all. "Oh and Minato…" He pointed at the contract. "If you refuse you have to quit your successful job."_

_Why was Fugaku so fine with this! Minato thought he went mad. Not only because he would lose the job that he loved so much, but the idea of forcing his only son to get married with someone he didn't love was making him sick. His son was his precious person._

_Minato gulped. There was another reason why he couldn't quit his job and for god sakes Fugaku knows that! "Come on Fugaku you've gotto to be ki-" _

_Then one of Uchiha's men stepped forward. "Well there is a benefit here. Like Mr. Fugaku said if your daughter married his son a good relationship could come between the companies?"_

"_Relationship?" Fugaku said in disgust._

"_Daughter?" Minato said, dumbfounded again._

_The man began to sweat a little._

"_Yeah, her name was Naru right?"_

"_Naruto." Minato correct him._

"_Naruto?" Fugaku frowned. "What kind of name for a girl is that?"_

…

"_Because 'he' isn't a girl; I only have one son. And his name is Naruto."_

…

_This time the silence was long._

"_Oh." was Fugaku's answer, but that still didn't solve the problem. Then he spoke again. Those were the last words Minato wanted to hear._

"_A promise is a promise. A bet is a bet."_

Minato looked at his son. During the whole story he had only blinked a few times. Then he did something unexpected; he laughed.

After a moment, he began to talk. "Th-… that one was funny dad." He said still laughing, "Very original! So tell me the real reason why you've called me here."

But Minato wasn't laughing at all. In fact, he looked quite serious. He grabbed his suitcase, laid it on the table and took a single sheet out of it. He passed it slowly to Naruto. He took a good look at it. What was in the contract was precisely described what his father told him. But this time it was typed with the pc looking like a real contract. He saw two signatures; one definitely his dad and the other… he bet it was Uchiha Fugaku. And there were two spots open for two other signatures. This was the real contract that dad mentioned.

Naruto was getting scared now. "Come on dad… this isn't funny anymore," he laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry Naruto… I still could convince Fugaku that it only will go on when the two of you will sign too," he said with a sad voice.

Naruto abruptly stood up and slammed his fists on the table. During the story a lot of people had already left to go to work again and the few who were still there turned their heads to Naruto's direction. But Naruto didn't care.

"I will not marry Teme for god sakes!" Then he calmed down and slowly sat down again. He sighed sadly."But I also don't want you to lose your job." He knew his father loved his job even when he almost never got home.

"…Who is Teme?"

"Sasuke. That arrogant bastard…"

Minato blinked. "… It isn't going to be Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto."

His son looked confused."Heh?"

"It's his brother."

Naruto looked at him with bewildered eyes."Teme had a brother? He never speaks about him."

After a silence Naruto spoke. "…What is his name?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

_Never heard of him_. Thought Naruto.

"What about school? What would they think if they find out! And what ab-…" Naruto panicked.

"Nobody will find out, only a few people." He saw Naruto relax a little.

His father had a sad smile on his face, "Son. It's your choice okay. It was my fault for being that stupid; it's your decision not mine," he looked at his watch. Break is up, time to work.

And Naruto looked he was about to cry.

He sighed. What the hell was he doing? Did he just try to make Naruto sign the contract? Only for the sake of his job? In income was important but this went too far. He was kicked back in reality. The older blond just couldn't do this to his son.

He laughed a little. That made Naruto look at him, confused.

"You don't have to sign it," he repeated again, but this time the tone was different. "It just was a joke... I just wanted to show you this so you will never make this kind of mistake. Take this as a example." He was about to grab the contract when a firm hand stopped him. Minato was startled.

"No," his son said softly. He didn't believe this was a joke... "I will think about it," he added.

"Naruto…you do-"

"No! You already made your decision by signing this contract already!" Naruto hissed.

He was too shocked from Naruto's reaction. Naruto was right. He had already signed it. Why? He actually didn't know anymore… Was he too drunk last night?

But the adult nodded and was about to ruffle through his hair when Naruto moved backwards out of his reach. He looked at the boy but he didn't look back. He just stared at the contract with hollow eyes.

"Well… I have to work now. See you next Friday."

_No answer._

"Just give me a call when you've made up your mind."

_No answer._

Naruto, still looking at the piece of paper, heard his dad leaving but still didn't look up.

_This… definitely sucks…_

And that's how Naruto got there.

He didn't want to sign or to get married but that would mean the end of his father job. And finding a new job was hard to do nowadays. He loved his father with all his heart and didn't want him to be sad. He clearly remembered the years when he had broken heart. It took him years to let Kushina go. He looked lost, lonely and pained. He hated it when he looked like that…

If he signed he would marry to a _guy._

A guy named Uchiha Itachi.

Naruto wasn't gay. He didn't dislike gay men or anything; if men liked to be gay then let them as long as they loved each other. He just wasn't one of those men. He was already glad that nowadays homosexuals weren't looked at if they were some kind of trash.

He took a deep breath then he had a good idea. If he signed and got married, he could also divorce after that. _He hoped._ They surely would keep this secret; it would still be strange for two men, who both were sons of high-class businessmen who were forced to get married only because of a stupid bet.

Naruto mumbled a few words only he could hear.

"_A promise is a promise. A bet is a bet."_

Naruto signed.

* * *

**A/N:**  
Yeah I know long, long, long story nothing big really happened. Only that Naruto signed!

But if I would keep it short with now background then it would just like this;

Minato: here

Naruto: what's this?

Minato: it's a contract. It says that that you have to marry Uchiha Itachi.

Naruto: _gasped _OMG no ways!

Minato: Yeah I lost a bet sorry… but it's your decision now- _points to his signature- _Here I already signed. If I didn't I would lose my job –_sobs-_ Like I said it's all up to you… walks away crying.

Naruto: -_looks sad and feels guilty-_ okay I will sign it _signed_

Okay that was awful right?


	3. Chapter 3 The Uchiha's

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow

**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 3 – The Uchiha's**

* * *

The young raven haired man didn't like what he'd just read. Not one bit. He looked at the man who was standing in his large room, leaning on the wall next to his door. The man he had to call _had _father looked curiously at him like he was expected him to say something. Still, his son could only look at his father and frown. What sort of joke was this? First he stormed into his room, without knocking while he was reading and now _this_.

He didn't like to be disturbed while he was reading. At first he thought it was his annoying little brother. He never knocked.

When he had seen that it wasn't his little brother but his father, he was surprised, although he didn't let it show. The raven haired man never let anyone see his emotions; it made a person easy to read and that was a dangerous thing in the world of business. His face was, most of the time, blank. If his old man would retire he would be head of the company Uchiha. His father always expected that of him, his first born. Thought he already had his own job to worry about. Working at the police force wasn't a simple mind job. Sometimes Itachi barely slept. The young Uchiha didn't mind. To be completely honest he thought it would suit him well.  
Still if he got some spare time he would help his father with his work since Itachi was also good with numbers.

But he just couldn't agree with this, not with _this._

"Itachi," his old man called. "Well?"

Itachi looked from the contract to his father and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you expect me to say, father?" He asked with a calm smooth voice.

"…Will you sign it?" He said. The young man could hear the light irritation in his voice.

"Why?" Again calm. It was almost too calm.

"Why?" His father repeated.

Itachi ignored him. "I guess this is once again the result from one of your bets." He threw the contract towards his father. It landed right before his father's feet. Fugaku looked irritated.

"I will not sign it. I'm not playing one of your mindless games," Itachi said, bored. "I'm not getting married, especially if it's to a guy." Itachi never was a person that even thought about marriage. It didn't suit him.

Fugaku scratched his neck. "Well, we actually first thought it was a girl…" He said admitting his slight mistake. "Anyway nobody actually knows about this. Only I and four people at my work, the Uzumaki's and two of his people at his work, "He cleared his throat." and also a few people who will make it official."

Itachi almost flinched at his last words. "And mother and Sasuke?"

Fugaku didn't answer immediately. "They also will not know about it."

He could understand if he didn't tell Sasuke, but even his mother? She was bound to find out somehow. He stared at the contract that still was on the ground. He also noticed the two already signed signatures. One of them was from his father and the other was definitely from the father of this guy he supposed to marry.

"I see the other man has already signed. Would he just simply let his son marry to some stranger?" He said more to himself then to his father.

"Well he had to sign or else he had to quit his oh so great job." Fugaku mocked. "I guess he wouldn't be able to pay his rent of his two luxury apartments and his son's school anymore," the old man said simply while looking away. Itachi looked at him suspiciously. He sensed his father was really uncomfortable when he said that. It almost sounded that he was hiding something. When Fugaku noticed his stare he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Itachi shrugged. "It is just weird that the other man already signed like he didn't care at all." Not if that it wasn't that of a surprise. _There were a lot of assholes if it came to business._ Itachi thought while he glared at his father for a moment.

The old Uchiha ignored his glare. He was used to his glares anyway. "Well I gave him one week to think about but he already sighed. Don't tell me why." He shrugged.

"So why do I and the… other guy have to sign this? It was your stupid game and we weren't there. You just can't involve other people in it." This really irritated him. "Why do we have to play along?" Itachi said with a slight irritation in his voice.

Fugaku mentally groaned, "Because Minato convinced me that you guys would have to sign too, since it's your future. And come on... Isn't about time you got married?" He added.

The old man was avoiding his questions.

"You're growing soft father." Fugaku looked confused for a moment but then he knew what his son meant. That he was convinced that easily. Fugaku was never that easy. In fact he was a very stubborn person. It was only because the blond used to be his old school pal or more like his rival. Years after their granulation- "He sighed."He even helped him with that _case_. Just the thought of it made him slightly shiver.

After a while the young man spoke again.

"Minato is the father of that guy?" It was almost like he was talking to himself again.

"Yes, Uzumaki Minato. Why?"

Itachi stared at hands while he was in thought."…Sounds familiar."

"Well sure it does. He is a high class businessman, a very good one if I say myself. Too bad he isn't working for us."

Itachi remembered, but there was somewhere else he heard the name 'Uzumaki'.

Then a bell rang in his head. His little brother sometimes talked about a person named Uzumaki; that he was an annoying blond and thought he was better then everyone and they often had competitions at gym. It almost sounded like they were rivals. He tried to remember the name and after a few seconds, it hit him.

"…Uzumaki Naruto." He muttered.

Fugaku frowned. "You know him?"

"He is in the same class as Sasuke."

The older man frowned."Really now, never known."

Of course he didn't know, like he could give a damn about Sasuke and his school. Itachi was already getting tired of this so he reached for his book and started to read again. Itachi sat on his large bed with one leg over the other and his back against the white wall. He looked quite relaxed.

His father waited impatiently while looking at his son. Then the old man asked the same question he asked a moment ago.

"Well? Will you sign it? Or should I call the Uzumaki's and tell them that the deal is already off?"

Itachi actually doubted that the kid called Naruto would actually sign. He would be a complete idiot if he signed the contract.

_-Not far away a kid called Uzumaki Naruto signed the contract- _

Nobody could love his father that much. Well… he definitely couldn't.

"…We'll see," was his short answer. He had a week after all. Maybe he would be able to find some kind of benefit in this whole marriage thing. Naruto's father was a businessman after all and nobody knew about the contract, only a couple people. And when he got what he wanted, he always could arrange a divorce… and if there wasn't anything special, he always could divorce right away.

Somehow Fugaku knew what he was thinking about. "You can't divorce right away because it would be too easy for Uzumaki Minato. He simply just has to sign it like his son and then after it is official, quickly get a divorce." He grunted. "So it has to be at least a half a year." He said it like it was just a normal thing to say.

Itachi looked at him. "There was nothing in the contract about that," he spoke, yet calm again.

"Well no, but I have arranged that if you guys want to divorce you first have to ask for my signature. And no, you can't fake it I; already made sure of that."

_What did he mean by that?_

"So you already prepared everything?" The raven haired man asked.

"Of course. You never know, right." Fugaku said but his voice sounded a little darker than normal. "Besides you could always find some useful things for our company." Itachi of course already thought of that. But when his father said it sounded so… devilish. But he nodded.

_So that was the plan._

"…Maybe."

There was a short silence between them, begging to be broken.

"Well anyway," his father started. "I'm going to visit your mother so watch out for Sasuke, for me."

His father and mother had divorced five years ago but his father still visited her once in a while. He would have to travel a lot because his mother didn't live nearby. Itachi actually didn't care but you could say that Sasuke was almost heartbroken when he heard that their parents were going to get divorced. Sasuke loved his mother very much. He knew that his little brother visits his mother more than his father would.

Itachi ran a hand through his dark hair. "The brat is nineteen years old. He can take care of himself."

"Not because of that band of his. They are pulling him in all sorts of trouble." Fugaku shot back.

Itachi sighed. When he was at his father's house, like now, he often could hear his brother play the guitar. The little brat wasn't an amateur or anything it just was really annoying. Itachi easily could hear him practice through the walls.

"...So you'll think about it?"

"Hn." Fugaku took this as a 'yes'.

There was nothing to talk about now. Fugaku never asked Itachi how his day was or what he was planning for the weekend. He wasn't that kind of a father.

Fugaku left the room, closing the door behind him.

Itachi was trying to read again and do some paperwork. But he couldn't. His eyes focused on something else.

He looked at the contract, still untouched on the floor. A sharp groan was heard as he slowly stood up from his bed to pick up the piece of paper and walked to his suitcase to put it in. _We'll see._ Then the phone suddenly rang. Itachi laid the contract on his desk and was about to go to the living room when he heard Sasuke. "I'll get it!"

A moment later Sasuke swung his door open, again without knocking. Itachi glared at him and just like dad, Sasuke ignored it.

"Phone for you." After he gave the phone to his brother Itachi still glared at him.

"Knock little brother, knock." He growled.

Sasuke just shrugged and said fine, like he always did and always forgot or he just didn't care. So why would Itachi still warn him? Then Sasuke left the room.

"Itachi speaking."

"Hey, it's me." The person coughed.

_Shisui? Never expected him to call._

"What can I do for you?" Itachi asked politely.

A heavy cough was heard again. "Itachi, I know it is weekend, but you know that I still have to work at the weekends." Again a cough was heard. That didn't sound healthy at all. "And I guess you already noticed that I'm not feeling well."

Yup he's going to ask _that._

"So…" Shisui started. But Itachi cut him off.

"You'll need to find a replacement for the weekend and you couldn't find anyone else because they were all too busy. So you called me. Right?"

A few seconds went by. "Yeah. Sort of. I heard you were really good at handling problems last time." Itachi heard a soft laugh through the phone.

"So can you do it? If you're too busy I'll understand."

Shisui was Itachi's best friend. Yes, he had a _best friend_. They'd known each other since high school. Itachi wasn't… how should you say it, a very talk active person. But somehow Shisui could read his mind like it was nothing. Well others though he was the biggest mystery ever. Of course that attracted many girls; _that_ of course was very annoying. Not to mention also a few boys…

It surprised Itachi and he wasn't easily surprised. The only different was that Shisui was a little more open, actually a lot more than Itachi. The Uchiha respected him.

"What's in it for me?" Itachi asked.

"Uhm… a big friendly hug?"

Honestly Itachi wanted to roll his eyes. "No."

"Aw come on Itachi. You know I would do the same for you."

"…Not really."

"Yes I would!" The raven haired man could almost imagine him pouting now. Then Shisui coughed again.

Itachi sighed as he brushed a few dark hair locks away. "Fine. When?"

"Well actually it's only tomorrow. I'm already at my work now and I told my people that you were coming tomorrow. I made a list an-…"

"What?"

"Well let me finish first then ask questions."

"No, it's not that. You already informed your people that I was coming tomorrow?"

"Well you know that I always can count on you Itachi. Looks like I was right." Shisui laughed. Itachi could feel the tension. He was getting a little nervous. Then the raven haired man heard a heavy cough again and sighed obviously very irritated.

Shisui spoke again. "I'll leave a list on the desk okay?"

"Fine."

"Yes! Thank you Itachi. Did I already tell you you're my best buddy?" Shisui didn't hear a reply, only a beeping sound. Itachi already hung up.

His eyes were again fixed on the contract. First he needed information about both Uzumaki's. He could search through files to see this Uzumaki's Naruto. But numbers and letters wouldn't say anything. So the only thing he could do was something he preferred rather not to. He would ask for information.

Information from someone he rather not go to; his little brother.

He knew more about Naruto then a few stupid files would; they had been in the same class for some time. It wouldn't hurt to ask anyway but he hoped his brother would keep it down. He remembered he would always raise his voice when he talked about him. _Was that blond that annoying?_

Itachi walked out of his room, walking through the living room to Sasuke's room. He could already hear his guitar. Father's house was large and so was the living room. There had big couches and many lamps. They even had a bar and the kitchen was as large as the living room. Imagine how the bathroom would look like…

Father always had a luxurious taste and would always show off about how great his home was and that he got a bar in his house and many other things. Who cares? Many had bars in their house or even a swimming pool. Well… the people that Itachi knew.

Once he was in front of Sasuke's door, he knocked.

"Yeah?" Was his brother's reply.

Itachi opened the door and saw Sasuke on his bed playing on his black guitar.

Sasuke looked surprised. It wasn't very often that his brother came to his room. He raised an eyebrow.

"How can I help you my dear brother?" said Sasuke. The older Uchiha could easily hear the sarcasm.

Itachi ignored it. "Uzumaki," Was his brother's only reply.

Sasuke frowned and stared at his brother for a moment. "You mean Uzumaki Naruto? What about him?"

"…Tell me about him." He answered shortly.

The younger Uchiha actually looked a bit surprised. Then he glared. "Why?"

"Just tell me Sasuke."

"Are you planning to fuck up somebody's life again?"

Itachi glared at him. Sasuke stopped playing and just glared back.

_Silence…_

"If you won't tell me I'll tell father and _mother_ you're on drugs."

Sasuke immediately stood up. "I'm not on drugs you bastard!"

"Who do you think they're going to believe? I don't lie that easily." _Lie._

Sasuke growled and Itachi smirked.

"I will tell them you are fucking with daughters from men who own big companies! Only to get fucking information!"

_Silence…_

Itachi shrugged. Not that was entirely untrue. "Go ahead. I bet dad already knows, and I don't care what mother will think."

Sasuke didn't know what to say anymore. His older brother was just a cold bastard with no heart.

"Naruto is just a hyperactive moron… well in school. I don't know how he acts outside school. He always thinks he's better than me. He hangs out a lot with this guy named Kiba, also in my class. And he likes ramen."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "…That's it?"

"Yeah, that was it." Sasuke lied. "What did you expect? Like I would know a lot about some moron."

Itachi thought for a moment. He knew that Sasuke knew more but he didn't really felt like pushing him. He was too tired even when it only was like 13:00 PM. He still had lots of paperwork to do. Itachi sighed. Fine he would find it out anyway, one way or another.

He looked straight in the eyes of his little brother.

"That will do… for now."

Sasuke frowned. _For now?_ Did that bastard actually think that he would tell more? Sure he thought the blond was quite annoying but it always meant trouble when Itachi asked for information about a person and he didn't want any part of it. So he would tell as little as possible.

"Why are you so interested in him anyway?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

"None of your business," he simply said.

Sasuke growled again. Itachi just ignored it and was about to leave when a voice stopped him.

"If you fuck up his life… you will deeply regret it, brother." The younger Uchiha hissed.

Itachi turned around a bit. "So the little worm actually got teeth." Itachi smirked and Sasuke glared again. _Yes this wasn't going to end well._

"What the matter Sasuke? You actually care for the boy? I thought he just was a simple moron… Maybe you have more in common then you think."

Sasuke took a few steps towards his brother. "He may be an annoying moron but that isn't going to give you the right to fuck up his life or fuck up anyone's life."

"How sweet, my little brother actually has a heart…" He saw Sasuke greeted his teeth. Really now, his little brother was so easy to provoke. "And who said I was going to?"

"I would have more of a heart than you ever will have." Sasuke said while he took another step closer to his brother. "I could already smell the stench of trouble when you walked in here! He's my classmate so if anyone could mess with him it should be me." Sasuke said while pointed with his thumb to himself.

It was Itachi turn to glare back now. "Watch it Sasuke. My patience has limits." He said in a dark voice.

The younger Uchiha would know better than to test his brother's patience. The last time he did it, he was lucky to get away with a few bruises. God he hated him. Sasuke was really pissed. He wasn't weak or anything but he never won against his brother. God he hated that.

Itachi didn't expect an answer after that so he walked out his brother's room and closed the door behind him. Then he heard a mumble from Sasuke's room. A mumble he wasn't supposed to hear, but did.

"Stupid weasel."

Yes. Sasuke could be childish sometimes

"…You're such a little child Sasuke."

Itachi heard another mumble that sounded like; _bastard _and then something was thrown on the other side of the door. Whatever it was, it was broken now.

He heard Sasuke curse and smirked.

Sasuke thought it was strange. _Really strange._ He thought while he picked up what was left of his cup and threw it in the garbage can. It annoyed Sasuke that his brother could easily piss him off. How in god's sake can he stay so calm? What was he? A robot?

Also why was his brother so interested in Naruto? He knew that Naruto's father was a businessman but he wasn't the head of his company. So why? He wasn't an important person. Well not at least to Itachi.

Many questions but no answers.

Itachi only would approach people that could be used to him and his father's benefits.

Sasuke wanted to find out. He actually never was interested what his brother would do. But this involved a classmate that he had known for a long time.

Yes the blond was an idiot. Yes the blond also thought that of him and yes, they weren't that fond of each other. But when they were alone, Sasuke noticed that Naruto acted different to him, he actually did the same.

And when their eyes met, Sasuke could have sworn he always saw a flicker of pain and joy at the same time. Naruto was a person who had many secret emotions.

He was more than meets the eye. And he wasn't going to let Itachi fuck up his life; if that really was his true intentions... The young Uchiha sat down on his bed started to play again.

He would talk to Naruto and warn him what could be coming. When? Sunday he had to go practice with his band…

School started on Monday. He would try it after school.

He hoped that Kiba wasn't near him when he wanted to talk to him. He was really protective of the blond everyone knew that. Kiba was really strong; he noticed that turning gym, had a badass attitude, had many friends and knew many people.

The brunette almost seemed to act like he was his big brother or something.

Naruto seemed lucky to have such a strong person by his side. But that wouldn't stop Itachi.

* * *

**A/N  
**  
Another chapter done. Yes, Itachi is a cold-hearted bastard and Sasuke will be a more talkative person and a more open person. But don't worry, Itachi will slowly change, and of course _that_ will take time.

So this was a chapter only about the Uchiha's. About the relationship between Itachi and his father and Sasuke between his brother. Of course they don't like each other that much.

So I hope you liked it.


	4. Chapter 4 Shadows

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes  
**_**  
Chapter 4 – Shadows**

* * *

Kiba didn't like silence. Not this kind of silence. He stopped at a traffic light and looked to the seat next to him. The blond was leaning his head on his knuckles and looking outside with dull eyes. Naruto hadn't said anything since he had gotten into the car, well actually, only one thing. Kiba already knew in _that _moment that there was something not right. He heard a car hooting and noticed it was green.

Not paying attention on the road was a very dangerous thing, especially when it was Saturday. He cursed silently; the last thing what he wanted to do now was to get out of his car to yell at the driver behind him that was hooting at him. He really dislikes Saturdays. It was darn to crowded in the city!

...He didn't know about what. But Naruto needed to think in silence so he drove further in complete silence.

_- earlier -_

The brunette was driving around and also did some shopping while Naruto was with his dad. When he was about walk into a music store when his phone rang. The little screen on his phone said it was Naruto.

"_Yo Naruto. Finished already?" Kiba said cheerfully._

"_Yes," was Naruto's short reply. _

_Okay that didn't really sound very cheerful, Kiba thought. _

"_So…" Kiba started. "What happened? Was everything okay with your dad?"_

_Silence _

"..._Kiba?"_

_"Yes?"_

"_Can you just pick me up?" The blond asked softly._

After that, Kiba quickly turned around to get his car. It took him roughly twenty one minutes to get there. He actually was already pretty close to building where Naruto's dad worked but it was Saturday, meaning it was chaos on the road. When he finally got there, he saw a good spot to park his car. Then he looked around; he had a good view of the company building and he watched people walking in and out like crazy. Some people that worked there came outside to enjoy the summer day for a moment while others just came out for a smoke while hiding in the shadows.

Then Kiba had seen a flash of yellow. He saw a young blond leaning against the wall next to the entrance of the building, can't miss that kind of blond hair. He was probably staring at the floor.

He got out of his car and was about to call his blond friend when Naruto shot his head up looking right at him. Scary; like he had already known the exact moment when he was about to call him. Or maybe he already saw him coming in his car but chose to ignore him?

The brunette didn't know. Kiba waved at the blond and he waved weakly back. There was definitely something going on.

While Naruto took his time to get to the car, Kiba already took his place in the driver's seat. A few moments later, Naruto opened the car and took a seat while closing the door. The look on his face gave him the creeps it was like Naruto had become a zombie or something.

Kiba would have asked what was wrong, but he decided to go against it. If Naruto didn't want to talk then that was fine. He always could tell him anything and he'd keep it a secret, Naruto knew this so Kiba would wait for him to talk. So instead, he said something else;

"_Where to?"_

_After an awkward silence the blond spoke,_

"..._Don't care."_

_That sounded very cold. Kiba remained cheerful and smiled._

'_Well I still haven't had lunch so I'm going to the Green leaf. Wanna come?" He asked, just in case Naruto maybe wanted to go home._

_But Naruto nodded._

Without saying a word Kiba started the car and was driving towards the place called the Green leaf.

And there they were, still driving in silence Kiba almost couldn't take it anymore. He wanted to scream, wanted to ask what the hell was wrong with Naruto, but he kept concentrating on the road. If Naruto noticed his tension, he didn't show it; his face was blank, still thinking, not noticing that the car already stopped.

"We're here Naruto."

…

"...Naruto?" Kiba touched his shoulder. That got a reaction.

"Yeah?" The blond said, looking at Kiba.

"We're here," he repeated.

"Oh." With that, he stepped out of the car. Kiba saw that his blond friend had forgotten to fasten his seatbelt. He sighed and also stepped out.

The sun was still shinning so Kiba was glad he had a simple thin yellow t-shirt on with blue jeans. He didn't like short jeans. It took only ten minutes to get to the Green leaf and on the whole way there, silence.

The Green leaf was a great place to eat your lunch; it didn't mattered what you ordered, it would always taste good. The place was nice and it wasn't that dark, like other places. It had a lot of big windows so the place would look actually bigger than it already was, even when it was crowded, like now, you always had the feeling there was enough space. It also had a bar, but Kiba decided to sit at a table; lucky for him that he saw two people leave their table. Kiba took the opportunity to push Naruto forward towards the table before anyone else would sit there. It was Saturday after all and it sometimes almost looked like a war here.

Naruto took his seat with is back against the wall so he could look outside like he always did. Kiba sat on the opposite side to him.

"Want something?" Kiba asked after a silence.

Naruto shook his head. Kiba frowned. Wasn't he going to say _anything_?

"What can I get yah?" A woman's voice said.

Kiba looked up to the waitress. It was a girl of his age who had brunette hair that was gathered together in two buns and she had beautiful brown eyes. She wore a fitting green uniform. Kiba recognised the young woman instantly.

"Yo Ten Ten!" He said cheerfully.

TenTen blinked and then laughed softly. "I'm sorry Kiba," she ruffled through his hair and Kiba growled in protest. "Didn't recognize you, must be 'cause of your clothes. Are they new?"

"Yeah. Funny, nobody even noticed except you." He laughed. "Are you falling for me?"

The young woman raised an eyebrow. "Tsk. You wish dog lover."

Kiba pouted. "Hey what wrong with that?"

TenTen ignored his childish pouting. She turned her head towards the blond customer and smiled.

"Hey Naruto." The waitress said sweetly. "Long time no seen."

The young blond looked up. "Hey TenTen," he said softly. TenTen frowned, she wasn't used to _this _Naruto; he was always so loud and cheerful. "Is something wrong? You know you could a-…"

"Nope nothing's wrong," Kiba interrupted her. "He just had a terrible night's sleep." He cleared his throat. "So for me the usual stuff and Naruto?" He looked at the blond who stared out of the window.

"A glass of water please."

_Water? That's it? _

The young waitress wrote something down on her notepad and looked at the two young men again. "That's it?" She asked politely. The dog lover nodded and then she left. Not even a second went by since TenTen left and Kiba felt someone's hand on his. His head turned instantly. Naruto looked at him big shinning eyes. The brunette blinked a few times and expected the blond to talk, and he did. He almost looked scared.

"K-...Kiba, I can't take this anymore, I have to tell someone... But you've got to promise me that you won't tell anyone."

Kiba blinked again and asked himself why his friend actually asked. The young blond already knew that he would never tell anybody if Naruto didn't want anyone to know. He must be very scared.

The brunette nodded slowly, "I promise." He said seriously. This time, Naruto nodded. The blond removed his hand that lay on Kiba's and went to the pockets of his sweater. A piece of folded paper was revealed and Naruto gave it to him. Kiba took it and studied it before unfolding it. He looked for a second to Naruto before he started to read.

In the meantime, Naruto played nervously with bracelet. He looked outside then at Kiba, then to the table and then again at Kiba. But this time he had a smile on his face and started to laugh. Naruto was a little disappointed. He would have known that his friend wouldn't take this seriously.

"What kind of joke is this?" Kiba said, still laughing.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I also thought that, at first."

Kiba's laughter died slowly away. "Come on man. You can't expect for me to believe _this_." His eyes fixed on the piece of paper.

"So you think this is some sick joke that my father made up? Just so he could make fun of me?" Naruto almost shouted that last part. Kiba was about to say something when a plate with food was shoved under his nose.

"Here yah go doggy." TenTen said. "And for you a glass of water." She laid the glass on the table. "So is there anythi-…" The young waitress looked at Naruto then at Kiba and then back at Naruto. She could feel some tension in the air. The two males didn't look at her, didn't thank her; they just looked at each other with a serious expression on their face. TenTen took the hint and silently left.

They still didn't say anything but kept looking at each other. Then Kiba broke the silence.

"Is this is really serious Naruto?" The brunette asked in a serious tone.

Naruto just nodded.

_...Another silence..._

Kiba's eyes widened. He slammed a fist on the table that made Kiba's plate and the glass of water jump.

"This is unacceptable!" Kiba hissed. He glanced around, looking if he had spoken too loud for others to hear. When Kiba didn't see anyone looking, he turned his attention to his blond friend.

"You can't marry that Uchiha bastard because of some bet!" A growl left his throat, "I will beat the shit out of Sasuke and his asshole of a father and probably your father too! How the hell did this happen?"

Naruto took a deep breath before he told his friend what his dad told him a while ago. Here and then, he stopped to drink some of his water. Kiba, however, forgot about his lunch. He listened patiently to Naruto's story. The brunette wasn't actually a patient man but he learnt when he was around with Naruto that it was needed, especially with him.

When the blond finished his story, he looked at Kiba. "I already signed," he pointed to the contract that still was in Kiba's hand. "Now it will all depend on him. If he refuses… my father will have to quit his job and I bet that we'll have to move… again," he added softly.

"Your dad is a great businessman. He would find other job quickly, maybe even a better one."

Naruto shook his head. "You know that it's very difficult to find another job. For instance I may say that I'm quite lucky with the weekend job I have now. It pays well and the people are nice…well except for a couple of annoying customers, but what I'm trying to say is, if I lose this job it would be very, very difficult to find a new one. You know with the crisis going and all. So if it's already difficult for me, how much trouble would my father have?" Kiba got the clue. The young blond sighed softly while the brunette ran a hand through his hair and then also sighed.

"You know," Naruto started, "It couldn't be that bad. It's only for a half year anyway and then we could always divorce and then everything would be like it used to."

Kiba corrected him, "You _will_ divorce you mean."

"…Yeah, that."

"But how did you know about the divorce thing?" The brunette frowned. "I didn't read it in the contract."

"Dad left a voice mail." Naruto sighed. "Because he forgot to tell me that part, looks like he was afraid to talk to me."

The brunette gave the contract to his blond friend and looked at his plate. Naruto had told him, after his dad told him that story, that he wasn't hungry anymore… can't blame him; he wasn't hungry either anymore.

Kiba began to mumble. "Sasuke, that bastard… Like anyone would marry him. I swear if he signs that contract just to mess with you, I will swear I will kick his ass." He hissed.

"Kiba." The older boy noticed the serious tone in Naruto's voice. "It's not Sasuke."

…

"What?"

"It's his brother… named Itachi."

The brunette frowned in confusion. "…Sasuke has a brother?"

"Yeah, found out today, just like you."

Kiba rolled his eyes while he waved his hands in the air. "Now that's just great. You are going to marry a total stranger! Oh no wait, I bet you'll just have to imagine Sasuke but then older and more arrogant."

"Thanks Kiba, that really helped…" Naruto leant his elbows on the table so he could lean his head on both hands. The thought of Itachi being worse than Sasuke was making him tired. Not to mention giving him a headache.

Kiba's eyes softened.

"So…are you really sure about this Naruto?"

"…"

After a moment, the blond nodded slowly. "Like I said it's only for a half year." He looked up and cheered up a little, like he had seen things in a new light. "And it's not like we're going to live with each other or going on a date or something." Naruto laughed in hollow manner. "Yeah, what am I worried about anyway?"

A smile appeared on Kiba's face. He didn't know why, but if Naruto laughed, he felt happy. He would make sure that Naruto would keep his smile now, even if it was fake, so he played along.

"Yeah indeed! You're so easily worried. You know what people say: time flies by! Before you know it, those six months will be already over!" The brunette cheered and Naruto smiled

TenTen watched in distance. The two males changed from sad to angry, and then from angry to happy… The two were cheering now, about…? She didn't know. Really… those two were something. The young woman smiled. No matter how old they got, they would always act like young teenagers.

* * *

Naruto let himself fall on his soft bed. It had been a long day.

After Kiba and he left the Green leaf, they did some shopping. Naruto went by the vegetable and fruit store to buy some ingredients for making his own diner tonight since his dad wasn't coming home this weekend. Kiba went to some car shops and some other shops to collect some things. During that, they went to get some drinks because it was damn hot outside; nearly thirty-two degrees. It was almost like they were melting.

Then the two friends went to Kiba's home. They weren't even inside and Akamaru had already jumped on Naruto and kept licking him. He always did that… not that Naruto would mind. The blond always loved the feeling that he was welcome somewhere. But Akamaru was a very large dog so it was very difficult to get him of the blond. Kiba wasn't a weak person though and, with his help, the dog was gone in a second.

Like they used to do, they played video games and ate some cookies, not the one Kiba's mother used to make, but the one from the supermarket. Kiba didn't live with his mother anymore. When it was almost dinnertime, Kiba offered the blond to eat dinner with him. Naruto politely declined but he still needed to get home. He didn't need to ask Kiba if he didn't mind to take him home, Kiba already offered it.

On the way home, they talked about Kiba's date for tonight; Ino. The brunette wasn't a person who got nervous that easily. Many young lads did when it would involve a girl. Like Naruto… because he was afraid that it wouldn't turn out well when he did something stupid, almost the same reason why he still hadn't got his driving licence.

When they arrived at Naruto's apartment, the blond said his goodbyes and good luck for tonight. Kiba handed him his bag with the vegetables and fruit in it then he smiled and waved at him. Naruto watched him until his car disappeared around a corner.

Yes Naruto was happy, very happy. The elevators were working again. He mentally cheered when he entered an elevator and pushed the button with the number twenty-six on it. Funny enough it took longer than usual to get there. Maybe the elevators weren't still functioning one hundred percent. Finally, when the elevator doors shoved open slowly, Naruto walked out like he had all the time in the world.

The hall was very wide. There were hanging colourful paintings on the wall and beautiful fully grown plants in every corner. On the centre of the floor lay a red carpet with a golden edge. Compared to his apartment, this hall was pretty old fashion but still luxurious. Naruto always thought that it was nice and cosy. He was about to turn a corner when someone bumped against his shoulder and, because of that, a few apples felt from his bag. The blond cursed and turned to the man.

"Hey watch it!" He said, but the man ignored the blond and walked away, not even looking at him.

He picked up his apple and turned once again to the man. Naruto raised an eyebrow. The man wore a pretty expensive suit; he could see that even when he only saw his backside, probably some kind of businessman. The tall man had dark long hair tied in a low ponytail and held a black suitcase in one hand. Naruto knew almost everyone of this floor but he didn't recognize him.

The man turned and disappeared in one of the elevators. The curious blond had seen a little of his profile but not his eyes; a few hair locks were in the way.

Naruto shrugged. He had better things to do than worry about some stranger on his floor.

The blond held his bag in one hand while he searched his pockets for his key. He almost dropped his bag while he searched… sometimes he really was clumsy. When Naruto was finally inside his house, he took a deep breath and let it all out. It was always good to be home.

He made his dinner and then watched TV, first the news and then a horror movie. Naruto would always laugh when it came to horror; sometimes it would look so fake. After that, he took a long comfortable shower. He loved showers. When he was ready, he let himself fall on his bed with his towel still wrapped around his head.

The blond was really tired… you couldn't blame him; after all, it really had been a shocking day.

His mind went to the contract. He tried to imagine how this… Itachi person would look like and if he would indeed be much worse than Sasuke. Would he look like Sasuke? What did he do for a living? Had they things in common? Many questions but two of them popped a few times in Naruto's head.

_Would I like him? _

…

_Would he like me?_

…

_-Thud-!_

"Ouch!" Naruto groaned. "…Not again…"

The blond was still too tired to get up, so he stayed on the floor, wrapping his sheet around him. Even when it was hot outside the floor was still cold. Naruto was a person who could easily get to sleep, so in no time he was sleeping again; he even didn't need a pillow.

Of course, his beauty sleep didn't last long because the phone rang. His eyes opened after the phone rang four times. His body protested when he stood up; his limbs were hurting and his neck was stiff.

"…Yeah, Naruto speaking." It came out almost zombie like.

"With Sakura."

Naruto instantly cheered up. "Hey Sakura! What's up?"

"Are you on your way?" Sakura asked. It almost sounded she was worried about something.

"What do you mean Sakura?"

"What do I mean?" She repeated. "Naruto didn't you get the message? I left a message on your phone!"

_Yup she was pissed._

Naruto hesitated to answer. "…Message?"

"Yes! You supposed to come today instead of Hanabi, she called in sick. I called you a few times at your house and when I thought you weren't you home, I left a message on your phone. Then I called you on your mobile but you didn't pick up. People are going nuts over here!" Sakura shouted and Naruto clenched his jaw, tightening his eyes at the sound of her loud voice. "Every little help will do now. We also called Sheri and Mitako, so hurry and get your butt over here!" With that, Sakura hang up.

Naruto stared at his phone for a few seconds like it was the weirdest thing he had ever seen. He knew that Sakura wasn't always like that; she just wasn't that good at handling stress. He looked at his clock and noticed it was 12:56 PM. Wow he had slept for a long time… Not like that was a surprise.

But why was it already crowded at the restaurant? At this time of day?

"…"

And then it hit him.

It was inspection-day today. You could almost say it was the worst day of Naruto life; the day that you had to be at your best or you could get fired by the inspection crew. This was the only day that you also could get fired _easily_. Because, of course, the restaurant had a reputation to hold and that it wasn't going to fall apart because of some waiter who did his job badly.

People were always judging you on every little thing you did and were complaining at every little mistake you've made. Furthermore…_ it was_ _frickin' annoying! _

Naruto had been so happy that he didn't have to be there today because he was there last time. But, sure, someone had to be sick _today_!

Jeez wasn't that a coincidence or what… He'll get Hanabi for this. _Believe it!_

Not that he had anything against Hanabi. But sometimes… _Uhg!__…_

The blond mentally cursed Hanabi for doing this to him. The last time he was almost at the edge of losing his job because of some old geezer Naruto was suppose to serve was complaining about everything! He always got the blame for everything. Everyone who worked at the restaurant hated this day. Some were actually afraid… afraid of losing their jobs; someone like Hanabi, someone like Naruto. This was bad.

He couldn't afford to lose this job' if this Itachi person was refusing to sign the contract, his dad was forced to quit his job. But Naruto would still have his job. His salary stroke would be very small compared to his dad, but it would always be something. He could pay for his own schooling and, in the mean time; his father could find a new job.

Shit! And he was also going to be late!

That would be a very, very bad start… He also was late last time and that didn't earn him any points. He promised that it wouldn't happen next time… So...Yes he was in trouble. Why was it always him? Did the gods hate him or something?

Naruto let out a heavy sigh.

He quickly changed clothes. The new clothes weren't so different from the other ones. He still had a sleeveless shirt, this time the colour was orange, and a black sweater over it that was zipped up to the top to cover up the text what was on his shirt. He also wore black jeans with the same shoes he had before. Then, he took a few towels with him; he hadn't showered so if there still was time, maybe the blond could shower at the restaurant first before he got to work. He didn't want to smell bad on an inspection-day.

He looked down at the contract that lay on the wooden table, and, just in case, he took the contract with him. You never know... maybe he would change his mind.

When Naruto was ready, he took his phone and the keys of his bike that lay on the little wooden table besides his bed. Then the young blond raced to the front door, once outside he closed and locked his door. Once he had made sure that his door was fully locked, he ran towards the elevators. Lucky for him, someone who entered an elevator saw him and held the doors open. Naruto thanked the man with a nod once he stepped into the elevator. He panted while leaning with his back on the elevators wall.

When he was all the way down, he took the stairs to the garage that was under the building. He hated the garage; the feeling of being watched was terrifying. Most people had this feeling when they walked here. Even with some lamps here and there, it was always seemed dark in the garage. The shadows seemed to grow by every step you made, like it was going to grab you and pull you with it, into the darkness. Sure, there were fights down here sometimes, but nothing big or anything. Because the Security would be here on time before thing would go out of hand. Still… it was very quiet and the blond didn't like total silence in a dark place…

Naruto was starting to get goose bumps. Man he hated his place. He quickened his steps towards his bike. There was a small space that had a name tack on it; Uzumaki Naruto and his bike stood there. It was in a corner, one of the corners from the garage. The blue eyed male disliked corners; he felt like he was a prey that was lured in a corner due his predator.

He quickly walked to his bike and lowered himself to search for the keyhole. _Damn it's always so dark in this corner._ When his finger found the little keyhole, his other hand searched his pockets to find the little key.

The blond was about to unlock his bike when Naruto felt something or someone touch his neck lightly. Naruto eyes widened and gasped in surprised. A second later, he felt that… someone had breathed on his neck. Or was it the wind? But he never felt the wind town here. That was like impossible. His heart speeded up. Had someone followed him? He could have sworn he didn't hear any footsteps.

This hadn't happened to him before. _Yes, he hated corners. He really felt trapped. _It took a few seconds to turn his head slowly to see who or what it was…

Naruto's voice was shaky… "…H-hello?" He said softly. He looked around, but no one was to be seen. "…Is anyone there?" If this was a joke it was _not_ funny. The blond was scared… _really _scared.

He really needed to get the hell out of here so he turned quickly to his bike and unlocked it. He looked around again with an almost panicked look in his eyes, like he was a reindeer who could smell a nearby enemy. Maybe he had imagine it? Maybe he was freaking out over nothing?

But then again, that air he had felt on his neck was rather warm. Or did he imagine that too? He shook his head. _Stop it Naruto you're being a fool! _It still was hot outside but in this garage it was somewhat cold. Then he saw in the corner of his eyes some movements… His blue eyed went straight to the thick pillar before him, only a couple metres further. It was just one of the hundred pillars in garage, but somehow this one stood out.

Shadows seemed to move by themselves, drawing closer to the scared blond. Of course, Naruto imagine this but the thought was just really scary.

Naruto began to shake a little. _Don't panic._ He told himself.

_Was there someone behind it?_

If there was, then whoever was behind it… he really didn't feel like looking and finding out; he just wanted to get out as fast as he possibly could. He jumped on his red bike and raced to the exit, not even bothering to look back.

When he saw sunlight, he slowed down. This time he had the courage to look back. Nothing or no one was following him. A relieved sigh escaped him and then he snorted.

Really… him and his stupid imagination, he really needed to slow down with those stupid horror movies.

* * *

**A/N**

Oh my… Who was that person in the shadows? Was it Naruto's imagination? Was it a ghost?  
Or maybe I'm fooling you all! -Evil laugh-

So hope you liked this chapter, hopefully it wasn't boring, so review... or something.

Bye now -waves-


	5. Chapter 5 The White Rose

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 5 – The White Rose**

* * *

"Where the hell were you?" The pink haired girl almost shouted.

Naruto looked down at his watch. It took him twenty minutes to get to the restaurant _the White Rose._ The White Rose was a luxurious restaurant and it was also a hotel. On the second floor were only a few rooms that were often used by newlyweds. The rooms were very big so it took a lot of space. That explained why there were only a few rooms available. It was a very popular restaurant especially, of course, to young newlyweds and people of high status.

The tired blond was still panting from his way home to the restaurant. Even when it was Sunday it really was a war zone on the road. The blond had ridden as fast as he could on his bike and now he felt the after effects. He felt no strength in his limbs; they were like heavy rocks, his lungs were burning and his heart was beating quickly and loudly… He doubted he even had the strength to work today. He could hardly even move.

Sakura crossed her arm over each other, expecting an answer. Green narrowed eyes pierced through Naruto's blue ones. It almost gave him goose bumps. He noticed that she already was in her uniform; she wore a dark red shirt with a fitting black skirt that hang very loosely and stopped just beneath the knees and with high heels. This is what all the waitresses wore as for the guys they wore the same but instead of a black skirt a black jeans and dark shoes, and had a white rose in one of their chest pockets. It really looked nice on Naruto and Sakura.

In Naruto's eyes, Sakura looked amazing. She was a petite young woman, her pretty pink hair was gathered in a messy bum with a white rose attached the hair band and he wore pretty earrings that were shaped in silver flowers and had mascara on and used eyeliner. She also had a little lip-gloss on her lips.

Naruto was kicked back to reality when he felt someone poking his cheek.

"Yo! Naruto, anyone home?" The pink haired woman let out a little growl that Naruto founded kind of cute.

"He he… sorry Sakura. It's just that… I'm really tired." He said while he scratched the back of his head. The way here had totally worn him out, not to mention he didn't sleep long enough. Well it was his fault that he went to bed late.

Sakura sighed. Then she laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder and pinched it slightly. A smile appeared on her pretty face. "Good to have you here." The blond smiled back.

"It already started, you should get ready." Sakura looked from his head to his feet and went back again. "And take a shower… "

Naruto laughed hollowly. "Yeah I already indented to do that."

"Oh, but before you go, you should report first. You're getting your ass kicked if you don't," Sakura said with a smile.

"Hmph… Sounds like you like the idea."

The pink haired girl laughed softy. "Actually…yeah."

The blond pouted. "Sakura you're such a devil sometimes …"

A grin appeared on her face. She stuck her tongue towards him. "Yups."

Naruto sighed. He really liked Sakura but sometimes… he just didn't know what to make of her.

"So… are they any trouble?" The blond asked.

"Who?"

"You know who I mean… Those _inspection_ people," he said, almost in disgust.

The girl mentally groaned she had almost forgotten about them. If Naruto was near her, she always felt comfortable. "Naruto you know how they are… I think they'll never change. It would be like… a _miracle_ if that happened."

Naruto noticed her changed of mood so he decided to change the topic. "Is Hanabi really sick?" He asked suspiciously.

The pink haired snored, "To be honest… I think _not_. Poor Hanabi was so scared yesterday. She kept talking to me about," Sakura paused a moment to find her words. "That her dad would be furious if she couldn't take a simple job, that she would lose her job… etcetera, etcetera. You know my point." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Come on Naruto. You can't blame her. I would do the same if I were new and heard scary stories about the inspection day."

Well that was true Naruto thought. I guess he would do the same too… but he didn't. He thought back. He also heard scary stories about this day, but he took it as a challenge… _and a challenge it was…_

Sakura looked at her small watch. "Eeep! Why are we talking here? Go on." She waved with her hands towards the office. "Go report and then take a quick shower and change as quickly as you can."

You couldn't argue with this young woman so he nodded and, as told, quickly walking to the office. He entered a large hall that was very wide. It almost reminded him of the hall from his apartment, but slightly darker. A few metres further, on the right, the door to the kitchen stood a little open. On the end of the hall was an emergency door and on his left a few metres further from the kitchen door, was the office. On the way there, he heard loud noises from the kitchen, shouts, kitchen equipment and food were almost literally flying around. Can't blame them…

He stole a glance trough the kitchen when he passed. It really looked like a war zone… Just like outside.

Once in front of the office door, he made sure he looked a little presentable. He also thought of what kind of excuse he would use, why he was late… _again. _Annoyingly enough, he couldn't think of any. _Damn! _Well maybe Shisui wouldn't mind this time… He hoped.

The blond was about to knock on the door when a smooth voice stopped him. "Come in." It came from inside. Naruto frowned. _How the hell did he know? _

He hesitantly reached for the doorknob and opened the door slowly. The first thing he saw was a big wooden desk, probably from some kind of expensive wood. Also a large carpet and plants on each corner. The air here was thick and had an old wooden smell that Naruto found weird. Maybe it was because it was so warm. There was another smell that was quiet familiar to the blond. But couldn't figure out what it exactly was.

But what confused him was the person whose back only could be seen. The person looked outside the big window, not even looking to the person who came in. After a few seconds he still didn't turn.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

_This definitely wasn't Shisui…_

But somehow, he really looked familiar…

* * *

He wrote, he stamped, he wrote, he stamped. He drank some coffee, he read and he signed. After that, he started all over again. The tired blond hated this part of the job. His eyes were burning from the lack of sleep. His head was aching and his fingers were itching.

"Uzumaki," a voice called.

Minato looked up. A middle-aged man with short black hair and with a small beard looked at him. He walked into his office, closing the door behind him, and leant against the white wall, smoking a cigarette. After a moment, the man frowned for not hearing an answer so he decided to push further.

"How's your kid holding up?"

That got the blonde's attention. He rubbed his eyes. "First: just call me Minato and please don't smoke in here like I told you a thousand times…" He sighed. "And I don't know Asuma. I haven't heard from Naruto after I _told_ him. And I don't expect him to do that soon."

He felt so guilty; first of all for telling him that their trip was cancelled, Naruto looked so foreword for this weekend. One of the reasons was to visits his mother's grave. He always sat down next to her gravestone and talked about things he did and what kind of exited things he had experienced.

And next... that he had to marry a total stranger. _If_ he signed.

Asuma nodded. The black haired man was one of the two men who were there when the bet took place and when the contract was signed. Like promised, he didn't tell anyone. Asuma was a very quiet but wise man for his age. He had known Minato for a long time. You could say they were close as being friends.

He watched his friendly colleague turn into jelly pudding when he had told his son all about this stupid bet. He almost hated Fugaku for turning him into this. To Asuma, Fugaku was an arrogant and childish man. Fugaku's pride was so big that he even agreed to sign that ridiculous contract. If he just would act like a normal grown up… Also another thing, what would his son say about this?

"Minato, one question."

The blond looked curiously at the man but nodded.

"You had one whole week… Why did you sign it already? I tho-" He was interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Coffee?"

They both looked to the intruder. The young woman looked from Asuma to Minato. "I'm sorry… did I interrupt you?"

"No dear," Minato waved it away. "No coffee for us."

"Oh… okay." She smiled. After that she closed the door behind her.

Minato's eyes found Asuma's again. Eyes slightly narrowed, "Sorry, why are you here again?"

Asuma almost choked on his cigarette.

He blinked. Did he just hear slight irritation? Did he just narrow his eyes to him? Something told him that it was about his question that he asked earlier. Why didn't he want to answer it?

Well he would ask another time because there was indeed another reason why he visited the blond. "The old man would like to see you now."

Minato's eyes softened, "Sarutobi?"

"Yeah that one," he said simply.

"Oh." The blond frowned. That made Asuma smirk and Minato noticed it.

"What?"

He left the wall where he had been leaning on and walked towards the door. "Don't worry. It's nothing bad. Actually… not bad at all." With that he left the room quietly.

He left the blond, who frowned in confusion.

* * *

Yes, just as he'd thought. After a few moments looking at his backside, he remembered. This was definitely the man who bumped into him yesterday. He saw the same suitcase on his desk, also the same dark hair and hair band. He was tall and also had what you called a business suit on.

When Naruto bumped into him he had smelt some kind of spicy aftershave or something… He also smelt it now, mixed with the thick air around them. Not that he didn't like it or anything… but it was making him dizzy and sleepy.

Finally, the person acknowledged him and turned around to face the young employee. That certainly woke the blond up. This really wasn't what he expected… His eyes widened. Sure Shisui was a fine looking man but this man… was just_ gorgeous. _He, of course, didn't say that. Women would drool all over him, no doubt off that.

But what really was the eye catcher were the dark obsidian eyes of his. Naruto had the feeling that those deep eyes were piercing right through him. It honestly kind of scared him a little.

Seconds went by when the stunning man spoke. "It's impolite to stare," the man said in a deep voice.

Naruto blinked a few times, he almost forgot where he was. The young blond was confused. Shisui was in his office most of the day. Had this man something to do with it? He pointed a straight finger at him. "Who the hell are you, where is Shisui and what are you doing in his office?" He shouted.

_Silence…_

The only movement was that the mysterious man raised an eyebrow.

Naruto blinked again. _Why isn't he saying anything? _It was creeping him out. Not long after that, the blond saw the tall man move his lips.

"It's also considered impolite to point at people… Now then," he slowly sat down in front of his desk, reaching for some blank sheets and a pen. "Shisui called sick today and I am replacing him. So boy-…"

_Boy? The nerve!_

"This is an important day so do your work or there will be consequences… Now if you'll excuse me I have paperwork to do. Ask your questions next week when Shisui is back." The man spoke politely, but you could hear a light irritation in his low voice.

Naruto also noticed that he wasn't going to introduce himself any time soon, so he wouldn't either. _Talk about impolite…_ The man was acting particularly rude and he didn't like it one bit. Couldn't Shisui find a better person? Someone who could at least respect his employees.

"Fine you-… you stranger! Have fun with your paperwork! Yeah I'll get back to work and I will not forget to tell Shisui how _wonderfully polite _this… replace-person was!" Naruto snorted and the dark haired man stared blankly at him, not even showing a reaction. It annoyed the hell out of Naruto; it almost was like he was talking to Sasuke.

He decided that standing here wouldn't get him anywhere so he would end it, "Impolite my ass!" With that he left the room slamming the door behind him.

Leaving the dark haired man alone, who was in deep thought.

After a quick shower, he cooled off a little. But the blond was still pissed so he mentally shook his head. _What the hell was Shisui thinking?_ If this day was finally over, he'd go back to that rude bastard. He would make him apologize for his behaviour and for bumping into him yesterday without even saying anything.

He thought back to the office when he shouted at him. Well not that he behaved like a good little employee… But it had a good reason. It was of course not what a serious adult would do but still… It's not like he could take back his words now.

He dried his hair and changed into his uniform that already hung ready for him. He did his hair in front of the mirror. When he finally was ready, he moved through the large kitchen.

Naruto greeted a few people and the other way around. He clearly could see the tired and, not the mention, nervous looks. Some of them were new so they were extra nervous. Naruto felt sorry for them. He wouldn't want to stand in their shoes. It was already bad if a waiter or a waitress made a mistake, but if a cook made a mistake… Quality food and service were of course two of the top priorities in every single restaurant. But quality food stood at number one so Naruto could imagine the stress the cooks were in now.

The guests would stay here all day long, for breakfast, lunch and dinner and they would be judging it all and the service from the waitresses and waiters. Funny enough, Naruto wasn't nervous anymore. More like angry. He still couldn't get that rude man out of his head. It only made his frustration worse.

_Tsk… calling him boy_… like he just was a little annoying plaque. He seriously would kick some sense into Shisui when he got back. Shisui was a very nice young man who bought this restaurant two years ago and turned it into a more luxurious one, he also changed the name. The man was nice to his employees and respected them. Naruto and Shisui got along in ease.

"Naruto?" a sweet woman's voice called.

The blond turned his head towards the sound and smiled to hide his frustration. "…Yes Sakura?"

Sakura looked at him… well more like inspected him. When she was satisfied, her lips curled into a smile. "You look nice. Now," She took a deep breath. "…Ready for the last round?"

The blond nodded. He actually was really lucky; breakfast and lunch were already over. He looked at the empty tables and could already see a few waiters and waitresses cleaning up. After lunch, the guests would sit down in the famous White Rose's garden, drinking wine or other stuff and talk about how big their homes or swimming pools were and how much it was worth. Naruto mentally laughed. These people had grown up with wealthy parents who always gave them what they wanted. He would loved to see them if they were _money-less._ Then they would see how the real world would look like.

He turned to his pink haired friend, "Sakura?"

"…Hm?"

"Who the hell was that person in Shisui's office?"

Sakura frowned first but then she realized who Naruto meant, "Oh him? This is the second time he's replaced Shisui, but you weren't around back then." The pink waitress patted his shoulder. "I know he's a little strict, but it's only for one day. So you'll live." She winked playfully at him.

The blond smiled at that. She really looked cute if she did that.

"Yes, but now I still don't know who he is… "

Sakura brushed a few annoying hair locks away while she spoke. "You really don't know him do you?"

"…I'll think that's obvious now."

"Hehe… Well actually I don't know much of him either. All I know is that his name is Uchi-"

"Ah there you are!" A waitress said. "Do you have a sec?" But before Sakura could answer, she was dragged away by the same waitress.

Naruto watched her go. He laughed softy when he saw the pink haired girl pouting. The blond turned his attention back to the tables where the guest had their lunch and decided he would help the others clean up. A few minutes went by when Naruto felt someone push him behind his back. He almost wanted the snap at the person when he saw it only was Sakura.

"Well, come on Naruto. Get the guests their drinks or they're going to nag about stuff or worse… throwing things." Not that they would, but it was just a matter of speaking on how annoying these people were. "I just spoke to the others about the tables; you've got table number thirty- eight and nine, and forty- one, two and three with Nanoko. Got it?"

Naruto said nodded. "Right, now then… We wouldn't want to let those _nice _people wait, would we?" He looked at the pink haired girl who giggled at his words. Naruto smiled back.

* * *

Itachi looked at the piece of paper Shisui left behind, more like a 'what to do' list. He'd almost completed it but... there was one thing on the list he had to do _all over again_ because some kind of annoying blond interrupted his thoughts back then. Uchiha Itachi never did things twice when it came to work. It always was perfect. And that-… that _blond_ ruined it all! It irked him so much he actually stopped working.

"…_and I will not forget to tell Shisui how wonderfully polite this… replace-person was!"_

…_Replace-person?_

Damn boy. Who did he think he was? Yes, Itachi was also acting rude back then, but he didn't felt like introducing himself to some meaningless kid. He replaced Shisui before but back then he didn't bother to read through the employments files. He didn't see him last time when he was here. But still, the raven haired man didn't give a damn who worked here.

This was definitely the last time he did this for Shisui, like he didn't have anything better to do then hang around here and read - and sign - papers for this shitty restaurant. He started to get a light headache so he massaged his temples. That didn't help at all. He really needed some fresh air. It was, like the whole week, a hot summer day. So working inside with no windows open was almost like committing suicide. The man stood up and walked to the large window behind the desk. When he opened it he let out a relieved sigh. _That's better. _

…_Didn't Shisui say that he already had informed his people about my coming?_

Just like that he saw that face of that young blond man in his mind. There was indeed something else what was bothered him. Back then when Itachi turned around to acknowledge him he saw that the eyes widened of the boy. Was he that shocked that he found someone else in this office instead of Shisui? Or was it something else. More like… _admiration? … But of what…? …No that was just too stupid…_ But a voice in his mind told different because he remembered the intense stare of the boy.

Itachi shook his head. Why in the hell did he even bother to think about that? He bet he just was pissed because he had to do that piece of paperwork all over again._ And_ because it was just too damn hot. The heat was getting to him. Yeah, that was it. He'd show that brat. No one would talk down to an Uchiha; especially Uchiha Itachi.

He took one deep breath and walked away from the window to continue his work on the desk. He could see that there was still a lot to do but he would make sure that it was finished before the blond would go home.

He definitely wanted a word with him.

* * *

"Here you go sir." Naruto laid the glass, which was filled with white wine, on the garden table. "Is there anything else sir?"

The man waved him away, not even looking at him or thanking him. He was too busy with talking to an old lady across the table. _God, was it international 'be rude' day?_ He saw that Sakura and a few others got the same treatment. The blond sighed.

Hours went by and luckily nobody made one mistake turning those long and tiring hours. Well except that one of the waiters almost tripped… but lucky enough nobody noticed. The guests would say that clumsy people were dangerous in a restaurant.

It still would take three hours till diner would finally start. The cooks had already started to prepare everything. The blond was already getting tired but the beautiful garden seemed to help him feel better. It would always smell nice here and that was all because of those pretty white roses that were hanging everywhere. He took a deep breath. Yes it certainly smelled nice here.

The young blond was actually very sad that he didn't have a garden, but that was what you get when you lived on the twenty-six floor.

Naruto got a sign from an old man that sat at table thirty-nine. When he got closer he realised something. _Hadn't he seen this old geezer before? _After having a good look at him, he remembered and his eyes widened a bit. Yes, this was the same old geezer that almost robbed him from his job, the same old geezer that always complained about everything. Why didn't he notice him before? Well it would certainly because of the new short haircut and other clothes. And he and Nanoko decided that Naruto would take table forty- one, two and three and Nanoko table thirty- eight and nine. He looked around but Nanoko wasn't near. Then maybe she was in the bathroom?

Anyhow, if he didn't answer his _majesty's call_ it definitely would be chaos here.

"What can I get you sir?" Naruto asked as polite as possible. Just by looking at him, he could feel his anger rising inside of him. _Just relax Naruto. He probably forgot about you…_

But the gods were against him today. The old man looked suspiciously at the young blond. Then an ugly smile appeared on his old face. "Well well… Look who's here?" The man sneered. "I hope you'd learned your lesson little boy-" _Little boy? _"Cause this time I won't be that nice."

Naruto didn't answer him but nodded instead. _Relax Naruto… stay cool. _If he opened his mouth he was almost certain that whatever he said would come out like as an insult to him. _God he hated this man…_

The old man still looked at him with his ugly smile but it disappeared after Naruto didn't show any kind of reaction. He narrowed his old cold grey eyes. "What is the matter boy? Did you lose your tongue?" A few people that were also on the same table giggled and whispered to each other, enjoying the show and the old geezer continued. "Or didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

_That just did it!_

_He'll give them a show!_

Naruto calmly took one glass, which contained red wine, and, before the old man could react, he felt the red liquid all over his face.

Then Naruto spoke in a very calm way. "I guess not… _Sir._"

Everyone turned to table number thirty-nine, the guests as well as the waiters and waitresses. It was _that _quiet that you even could hear one needle fall to the floor. Sakura stared at Naruto in disbelief. Nanoko, who had just come back from the bathroom, looked shocked. She immediately regretted leaving Naruto alone.

A light breeze went through the garden… then the old geezer snapped.

* * *

Minato stopped in front of Sarutobi's office. Why should he be nervous anyway? Asuma said it was nothing bad… Or maybe he meant it sarcastically…? That would be so-not-like-Asuma… right?

Well standing there wasn't going to change anything so he took a deep breath and knocked a few times.

"Yes, come in," an old voice said.

The nervous blond opened the door and slowly walked in. His boss's office was two floors higher than from his own working floor. This place was like his own working area but a lot bigger, had a better view _and,_ of course, had a bigger desk. Minato always felt very comfortable with the old man. But in very busy-chaos-times like _this…_

The blond had a lot on his mind, his son Naruto, this contract, marriage, weekend trips, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi and of course, and a very busy job. Lately their clients were so annoying, he had to do ten times more paperwork and not to mention make a thousand calls. _Headache_. Yes, a deadly headache was the result…

So he actually really didn't know what to expect this time, but when he saw the old man he felt some kind of relief. The old male was smiling kindly at him and signed for him to come in. Minato did so, closing the door behind him.

"You wanted me to see you sir?"

Sarutobi leaned relaxed in his chair and shook his head. "No sir to me Minato. Just Sarutobi will be fine." He spoke in a friendly tone.

The blond nodded. "…So why did you want to see me Sarutobi?"

The old man laughed softly. "Glad you asked son." He pointed to the chair across from him. "Make yourself comfortable."

Well Minato didn't want to be rude, so he sat down… rather uncomfortably… Sarutobi noticed and smiled.

"You rather must be curious as to why I have called you here."

The blond nodded slowly.

His smile faded into a serious expression. "Well, Uzumaki, I know that what I'm about to say is nothing what you would have expected but this really has to be said…"

* * *

_He had signed the last paper. _It was finally finished. The raven haired man reached for his glass of water. Not long ago, one of the waiters entered the office to offer him a cold drink and he had gladly accepted. His throat was like a desert, hot and dry, so the cool liquid felt good and refreshing.

The young man looked at his finishing work. It took longer than he thought it would, must be the heat. Everyone was drowsy and tired on days like this. He really needed a cold shower, but not here. Itachi didn't like showers that were already used by other people so he couldn't wait to get home and use his own.

After his cool drink, he brushed a few sticky hair locks away. He was sweating a little. The air from outside wasn't helping. Even the air-conditioned didn't do its job well.

He stood up and rubbed the back of his sore neck. It definitely wasn't healthy to sit the whole day behind a desk. Well, not a whole day, but it surely felt like one. How the hell could Shisui even like this job?

But before he could find an answer to his own question, the door slammed open. He hated it when people didn't knock first… but by the way the young man was panting said that it couldn't wait.

"What is it?" Itachi said calmly.

"F-fight… There's a fight!"

* * *

**A/N**

Yes I'm so annoying… I can't help it

But this is really important news for you guys so hear me out: …sometimes I am seriously considering quitting this story.

I let a friend of mine read it and she said that she didn't like it that much because it was missing something… And I'm like _what is it then? _And she said: _… I dunno_

See yah guys!


	6. Chapter 6 Promotion

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 6 – Promotion **

* * *

"Naruto!" a pink haired girl screamed. "Let him be!" She pulled at Naruto's arm but he shoved her away, still holding the old man's collar. The blond was furious for saying things like that about Sakura and this restaurant. Naruto mentally snorted. _Manners?_ He would teach this old shit bag some manners!

_-Earlier-_

The man almost literally exploded. He stood up, letting the chair fall over in progress. He grabbed Naruto's shirt and pulled the blond with one strong grip towards him.

"You little piece of shit! _How dare you_!" He spat out. "Don't you know who I am you little shit rat? You just wait till your boss hears this! I'll make sure he fires your ass just like all the other useless staff around here!" The old man cursed some more but all that time Naruto stayed quiet. And that only angered the old geezer more. Naruto knew that and he enjoyed every second of it. He even smiled a bit. _God this man was so pathetic, thinking he was the ruler of the world or something…_

_Were all these people like him?_

With one strong shove, he sent Naruto backwards. The blond fell and hit a table that also fell with him to the ground. He could hear a nasty _crack_. First he thought it was his head or his arm, but when he looked behind him, he saw that the once beautiful table was broken. Sakura immediately ran to Naruto's side, kneeling beside him. She mumbled a few words to him that sounded like_: Are you all right? Are you hurt?_ The blond shook his head.

The man may be old but he was definitely not weak. When the man came a little too near to Sakura's taste, she stood up. "That's enough sir. I apologize for the earlier behaviour of my colleague. He will never do this again now please calm down sir and ta-" But before she could finish her sentence the man chuckled darkly.

"Move little girl." He pointed at the young man that was leaning on his elbows, now trying to get up without much success. Naruto was feeling dizzy. His head really took some damage. He was beginning to get a nasty headache. "This little pest has to learn some lessons. Pieces of shit like that one-" He pointed at the blond waiter. "don't belong here but on the street along with those other scum!"

Sakura narrowed her eyes to him. _How dare he!_ She slowly walked between Naruto and the older male. The blond followed her movement and the old man glared at her.

"Move away little girl," he repeated darkly.

Sakura didn't even move one millimetre. She fixed her eyes on his. "This isn't a fighting club _mister_. If you are looking for one then there is one Balloway street, not far away from here…" The man was about to say something but Sakura wasn't finished.

"I also heard the things _you_ said against my colleague and they were very rude. We are all hard workers here and will try everything to please all of our customers and I think we also deserve some respect for that. So I think I'll say this on behalf of us all…" Her serious tone changed into a sinister one. "We are _not _serving very rude and undisciplined customers like you. So let me put this simply, because I know that an old shit bag like you wouldn't understand in another way…"

_Silence..._

The old man twitched his eyes a few times.

A smirk appeared on her face that changed quickly to a sweet smile. She pointed at the exit door.

"So…"

"Piss off, _Sir._"

After she said that, the old male began to yell at her with almost the same words he used to Naruto but even louder. The blond still stared at Sakura's back in disbelieve. She never lost her temper when it came to customers. But then again this man…

"I can believe this! This whole fucking place is ruined by annoying little plaques!" He spat. The people around them still hadn't moved, like they were made from stone. Probably too afraid to come between them.

"You little bitch, get out of my way or I'm going to hit that smirk off that shitty face of yours!"

Naruto's blood boiled. Yet again this man went _too _far. In no time, Naruto jumped up and moved Sakura away and, before she could protest, Naruto hit the man with a powerful fist on his face. This time it was the old bag's turn to fall backwards. He landed on a chair that broken at the sudden heavy weight. Naruto didn't give him a second to recover. He grabbed the bastard by his collar. He heard Sakura screamed his name and then a second later he felt her pulling on his arm.

"Let him be!"

But Naruto just shoved her away. People could curse or yell all they wanted at him, he didn't care. But if they did that to one of his dear friends… He would be _furious._

The pink haired tried again. "_He's not worth it!_ This isn't going to help anyone!" She pleaded.

But Naruto didn't listen. Her voice didn't reach him anymore. "Apologize to her!" Naruto shouted but the old man didn't answer. Naruto's patience ran out. He was about to hit the man another time when a strong arm warped around his waist to keep him in place and a firm hand grabbed his wrist. The blond flinched at the sudden strong hold.

"_The girl is right_." Said a smooth voice that was very near to Naruto's ears. The blond almost whimpered at the sound. _Oh shit… That voice… That smell…" _Naruto felt he was shrinking_. " …I'm so screwed._ He slowly let go of the old man's collar. The old man leant his upper body on his knees and winced at the growing stinging feeling on his cheek and his sore old limbs.

Naruto would have thought that the strong man behind would release him if he let go of the old man. But instead of that, he only tightened his grip on the boy, this time the blond did whimpered. The so-called stranger behind Naruto looked around. It really was a mess… And_ he _had to clean it up.

The man lowered his head so that his lips almost touch his right ear. Naruto shivered at the feeling of his hot breath. "You. In my office, _now._"

The blond gulped.

* * *

Minato still just couldn't believe what he had just heard… He opened his door of his own office and slowly walked inside closing the door in progress. He let himself fall against the door, thinking back what his boss actually said.

"You rather must be kind of curious to know why I have called you here."

The blond nodded slowly.

His smile faded into a serious expression. "Well Uzumaki, I know that what I'm about to say is nothing what you would have expected, but this really has to be said…"

The blond played nervously with his sleeve. The stern look on Sarutobi's face was not a good sign at all and Minato mentally prepared for the worse.

Then the old man smiled like he was the happiest man of the world.

He clapped once with his hands when he spoke. "You're going to be the next runner up for SakuQ after I retire," the old man said cheerfully.

Minato blinked.

A bird flew by.

And the old man still had his goofy smile on his face.

Minato blinked again… before he even knew it, he fell out of his chair with a loud bang.

"_WHAT!_" Minato shouted while standing up and slowly sat down again.

The older male sighed. "Jeez… Minato are you deaf? I said you're the next ru-"

"Yes, yes, yes," Minato said fast. "But… _Why! I'm just a simple employee!_"

Sarutobi laughed. "Because I said so."

The blond looked dumbfounded. "I thought Asuma would take your place after you retired."

The old man shook his head slowly. "I already asked him that a long time ago, before you even started working here… he refused. But he said he still wanted to work here like a normal employee. I don't know why he exactly refused, but I can remember he said something like: Not a chance. That kind of stuff is not suitable for me." The old man paused for a moment. Like he was trying thinking to remember clearly what Asuma said, while Minato still looked like he just witnessed a terrible accident.

_Was this really… real?_ Minato thought. So many unexpected changes were acquiring. First that contract and now… promotion? Just… _too weird._

Sarutobi noticed his employee's deep thoughts.

"…Minato you're perfect for the job." He still said as cheerfully before. But you could hear that he was also very serious.

"After Asuma refused, I was determined to find someone else before my time would come. Could you even imagine how difficult that was?"

The blond just shook his head as answer to his question.

"Well very, _very_ hard. Most businesspeople are assholes, you know that Minato." He said while nodding at the blond. His employee laughed softly. Damn right he did. If his boss said '_who'_ then he probably could name hundred of them. Funny enough one particular name popped first on his mind.

The older male smiled while looking at the younger male. "I almost lost my hope… And that's when you came to work here Minato."

Minato frowned, obviously still confused.

"You were so _different_ to the others. You were young and very cheerfully, had a beautiful wife and a very cute kid. In other words, you were full of life." Sarutobi pointed towards himself. "_I _even know that your job is sometimes extremely boring but you never complained. You always did your job very well. Even when you were finished, you helped your colleagues. Something that almost no one would do here. Before you came, most people were like boring zombie's here. You showed them that it also could be in a different way."

Minato face saddened after he heard the 'wife' part. It always was a hard subject to him.

The old man slowly stood up from his comfortable chair. He placed his two hands on his desk. "You were the new fresh breeze that was needed here." The man spoke slowly. "Minato."

The blond, who did nothing but stared in front of him, looked up to him to meet his eyes. His tone was serious now.

"You also showed a great deal of leadership here. I noticed, your colleagues noticed. I wasn't always around to see it but Asuma told me all about it."

Then Minato spoke finally. "But why did Asu-"

His old boss cut him off. "Because he promised to help me find someone." He laughed. "And he really did a good job. After he told me that you were the right guy for this I had to check it for myself first… But he was right."

Sarutobi paused for a moment before he continued. "Like I said before, you are perfect for the job. You would do very well, I already can tell that." The blond really couldn't believe his ears. Just because he was different he could easily get promoted like this? …It was like a dream come true.

Then the old man reached his hand to him. "Minato do you accept this offer?"

Any man would without a doubt accept this offer but the blond hesitated. It was almost too much for him. There was too much on his mind.

Then he thought of his son. He knew that Naruto would be very happy for him. A flash of that day came to his mind. The day he told Naruto of that ridiculous bet. His son wasn't happy when he heard that of course. He was mad on his father, but who could blame him? If it would happen to him he probably would also be mad.

Naruto still hadn't called him whatsoever. He was starting to get worried. What if he did something really foolish? He had never seen his son _that _upset. (Not counting the so many frustrating conversations about Uchiha Sasuke).

But could he actually let this kind of offer slip through his hands? It's now or never. He promised to himself that he would make it all up to Naruto. Someday… Minato wanted that his son would be proud of his old man. Like the other way around… Yes, he was very proud of his boy. Every father would say this but… he couldn't be any prouder of his son. And it almost broke his heart for what he did, forced his son to marry a guy he hadn't even met. He felt disgusted for doing that, Naruto was everything to him now that his Kushina died. He also never told Naruto how his mother really died… It would be too much for him to handle.

Minato finally decided. He stood proudly up, took his boss's hand in a firm grip and shook it a few times. Sarutobi's lips curled into a wide smile.

The future boss of SakuQ spoke. "I would be happy to accept such a dream job." The blond said in a sarcastic way.

Those words made the old man laugh out loud. "Dream job indeed son! I just know you will do a wonderful job! Just so you know, you've made us very proud. Me, my wife, my kids, Asuma, your colleagues, your friends and of course not to forget your son.

_Naruto… would be proud?_

"And…" The old man started. His cheerful face turned into a sad one. "It such a shame about your wife. She was a very strong and beautiful woman, Minato."

Those words made the blond flinched. Yes a very touching subject.

Minato nodded, not wanting to speak about it. It would bring painful memories back that he didn't want. Sarutobi got the hint and didn't go any further.

No one knew about what really happened; only a few people, him and Minato included. And they had sworn an oath to never tell anyone, especially not to Naruto. Naruto already was in danger and the sad part was that he even didn't know about it… He was terrified if Naruto went out. Of course he didn't show it. It would be suspicious, because Naruto was a smart kid even if he didn't know it himself. He would want Naruto to grow up like a normal kid. That's also what Kushina would want… In that case Minato was glad that he was a good friend with Kiba… But what Naruto didn't know that there was also another reason why Kiba was so close to Naruto…

Minato was already glad that Kiba didn't fake the 'good friends' part. They really were good friends. That relieved him.

_Everything in time… _Although Minato seriously doubted if he would be ready for _that._

While Minato was thinking in deep thought, Sarutobi looked through his papers. Minato noticed the pictures in frames on his desk. Pictures from his family, his wife and of course his adopted kids. Sarutobi loved kids. They were the future after all.

The old man always was kind and respected his employees. Minato sometimes had to visit other companies for business and satisfied clients. He always met grumpy, arrogant men and women. But Sarutobi wasn't one of them he was sure a man that certainly deserved respect.

Giving the blond this new job was a way to tell him that he entrusted his company to him with all his heart. He really should be honoured, and he was.

After a lot of searching the old man found what he was looking for. "Ah! Here they are." Sarutobi gave his employee a few papers. Minato frowned.

"They're papers that will confirm it." The old man explained. "I already signed, as did Asuma as did the board of directors." Minato looked shocked. Even the board was satisfied with him? "I will announce it in three days time, including this one." He smiled. "I have a feeling that it will be one big surprise for everyone here. And I also think that it will receive positive reactions."

The cheerful old man kept talking but Minato wasn't listening fully.

_Three days… Naruto has a whole week the time…_

_If the Uchiha's find out that I'm going to be the new boss here…_

_Oh shit…_

* * *

The raven haired male sighed inwardly while he watched the young employee walked towards his _temporary_ office. It didn't go unnoticed to Itachi that the boy flinched and shivered when he stopped him from beating that old man up. The boy had a big mouth, but a moment ago he almost looked like a scared mouse waiting to put of his misery. He found it rather quiet interesting. Truly… that young blond was amusing him greatly.

Itachi looked at the damage, a table, a chair and a few glasses were broken, easy to be replaced. Then he noticed something… something that didn't belong there. He kneeled down at the place where the blond felt, picking up a folded piece paper. He heard one of the waiters telling him to be careful for the broken glass pieces, but Itachi ignored him, like he was stupid enough to cut himself. Who did these fools think he was?

Around him, waiters and waitresses were cleaning up and talking to the guests. Most of the inspection people still looked dumfounded and confused. Can't blame them though. No one ever expected this to happen, especially in a place like this, a high rated luxurious restaurant where service and a bright smile were very important things.

Somebody also would take care that this 'not good information' didn't spread further then besides these doors. Itachi would leave that problem to Shisui, he already had enough on his mind. So the raven haired man decided he would call soon and report the situation.

Now that he mentioned it, he also had to call his work, the police station. His headache was slowly getting worse. Damn that Shisui.

Curiously, Itachi unfolded the piece of paper. Besides that he was a cold bastard, he also was human and it was in human nature to be curious, even if it wasn't any of his business.

Well he knew now that it wasn't a drawing. He stood up; eyes never leaving the unfolded paper…

Eyes instantly flew open. _What the…?_

_"..."_

_So this… this boy was…?_

A few waiters that were walking by were trying to discover what the Uchiha was holding and wondered why it looked so interesting to the raven haired man.

Itachi, on the other hand, paid them no attention. His genius brain started the roll. After a few moments, a tiny smirk appeared on his handsome face. He never expected to find _him _in this place. Working as a waiter. Somehow the world did seem so small right now. Yes this indeed was going to get really_ interesting_.

One hand searched through his pockets. An expensive pen appeared and, with one click, he wrote something on the paper. After that, he folded the piece of paper and placed it in one of his pockets.

Sakura watched the raven haired man the whole time since Naruto was sent to the office. God… she really hoped that the man called Uchiha Itachi wasn't going to fire him. The pink haired waitress would be really sad if that would happen. She knew that the Uchiha was a very strict person but if he knew the real story… well he couldn't blame him for pouring wine over him. She probably would have done the same. So Sakura hoped that the Uchiha would understand…

But what surprised her the most was when she saw that the Uchiha had a tiny smirk on his face. It was almost too small to be noticed, but Sakura did. She never saw him smile. Okay she only had seen him twice but still… Kind of creepy.

Then she saw him search through his pockets, finding a pen. He signed something and took off. Probably towards the office. Sakura sighed deeply and resumed her work. In this case, cleaning up the trash...

She stole one glance towards the door Naruto disappeared through. Something told her that there was trouble on the way.

_Poor Naruto…_

* * *

He looked at the old man who still was talking in a cheerful tone. "What also would be gre-"

"Say Sarutobi?" Minato interrupted. "Could you just wait a week until you will announce the news?" The blond added fast.

The old man blinked in surprise and then looked confused. "Oh, may I ask why?"

"Oh, well… you see… It's like this…uhm,"

_For gods sakes! Think of something you yellow baboon! … Yellow baboon?_

The blond really wanted to slap himself.

Sarutobi scratched his nose while waiting for an answer. It was obviously that something was bothering his employee, but he wouldn't push him so he waited patiently.

"Well it's just that I'm having a little fight with my son right now," Minato lied …well not that it was one hundred percent untrue. Suddenly Minato felt a little guilt welling up.

He really hated to lie to him, but he just couldn't tell him about the bet and all… he really would feel ashamed and low if he did tell him. The blond knew that Sarutobi would also think him as a low human being. "And I want to tell him the news myself. But… the things we are in now… well you now know what I mean." He explained softly. "And I just want one week to make it up again."

_If Fugaku will find out that 'he' was going to be the new boss here it would mean trouble, especially in this week. Well… maybe he was overreacting._

It just was that the thing Minato was worried about was that Fugaku would make Itachi refuse to sign the contract, (that would be like… very easy. The blond just knew that Uchiha Itachi didn't like this idea of the contract either) so that Minato lost and forced to quit his job. Yes very stupid if he really did quit because it says so in some contract, but he never took back his words…

_But… how on earth could he explain that to Sarutobi and Asuma?_

It's not like he predicted that Fugaku would do that, but you never knew when it came to that man. It's true that he and the Uchiha were old school 'buddy's' but that didn't mean he would go easy on the blond.

So Minato decided he wouldn't take any risks. The blond saw that the old man was thinking. He really hoped that he would listen to him. But knowing the kind man he would do so… and he did. Sarutobi nodded his head a few times as an answer to his question. Minato mentally sighed in relief and felt (only if it was a little bit) like smiling. He really respected this man.

But after a moment he realized what he just thought. _He did it again…_

He only thought about himself, about losing his job. Not about Naruto and what he would think.

Like his opinion didn't matter anymore and just had to accept that he had to sign the contract. That he wasn't important anymore, but his job was… _God he really was the worst_…

_And_… he'd already lied to his boss. Damn. It wasn't like he just could take his words back right now but he also could look at it this way; if he didn't do this there was a chance that he would lose his job and it would take a while for he could find a job. Naruto would be then the only one that could take care of the financials. So he really _needed_ to keep this job. Even if the chances were small that _that_ would happen… like he thought before, he really didn't wanted to take any risks. Not anymore. Not after that stupid night where all the trouble started.

…_God this was so frustrated! _He had the feeling that his head was about to explode.

Minato was brought back to reality when the old man began to speak. "Sure I understand. And I'm really sorry about you and your son." He started with a concerning expression. "I actually never thought that Naruto was _that_ kind of boy that would have a fight with his father. He always looked like a very nice and mannered young man to me."

Minato cleared his throat. "Well you know… late puberty…" The old man frowned. "Really now?" He saw that his employee tensed and was beginning to sweat a little.

"Is there something wrong Minato?" Sarutobi asked suspiciously, but still with care. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

His employee shook his head. "No, _sir._"

_Sir again…_

A deep sigh left his lips. He looked Minato straight in the eyes. "Minato… You're all tense and you are even beginning to sweat." He raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

Minato tried to look somewhere else then at those eyes of the old man. He knew he wouldn't last long if he did. The caring look at his boss's face hurt a lot and the guilt just kept swelling inside.

"No really nothing is wrong. I'm just not feeling that well, I think it's just the heat. It's like fifty degrees outside…" The blond lied.

Sarutobi nodded in understanding. It really was, after all, a very hot day. "Well I can imagine that. Even I feel a bit drowsy today. God bless the man who invented the air conditioning." The man laughed softly. Minato joined him.

After that, Sarutobi said he would wait a week and he would also inform Asuma. Minato hoped that Asuma didn't tell anyone yet. That would make things worse. When all things were clear, Minato signed the papers for his _new_ job. He really was exited and worried at the same time. Surprises kept coming like it wasn't… a surprise anymore… A really weird thought indeed.

The employee and his boss talked about random stuff when Minato finished his paperwork. Twenty minutes went by before Minato changed the topic.

"Well, not want to be rude, but there's still a lot of work to do." He said while he scratched the back of his head. Sarutobi yawned. "Unfortunately, yes." It was quiet for a moment after his words. Then the both laughed.

Minato said his goodbyes and the old man returned it. Funny, even when he lied, Minato felt really comfortable when he was near him. You just couldn't be mad at an old clown like that. The blond laughed softly when he was in the elevator. The picture of Sarutobi in a clown suit was just hilarious.

And there he sat, in the cafeteria, not really hungry. After he went to his office to finish a few things, he decided he would need a break. He skipped the first one after all. It wasn't an official break, so there was no one in the cafeteria right now. It was nice and quiet. A nice moment to think in silence. His mind only went to Naruto.

_Should I tell him? Or should I wait? Maybe this news would cheer him up… Or then he would feel forced to signed the contract… But he also would like that his son would be proud of his old man. Proud of what he had achieved after three years._

Minato decided. He would call him. And after he told the new he would also say that he didn't have to feel responsible to sign _it. _It is his choice after all.

* * *

Sarutobi watched his employee leave. After the blond closed the door, he let himself fall in his comfortable chair and sighed relief. For a minute there he thought that Minato would refuse his offer…

The old man stared at his desk. He hated what he had to do next but that also _had_ to be done. He picked up his phone from his desk and dialed an unknown number. After a few seconds, someone picked up.

"_Yes?_" A low voice answered obviously very irritated.

The old man hesitated first, but then he spoke with a serious tone. "It's done."

A dark chuckle was heard through the phone and then the unknown person hung up.

Sarutobi slowly lowered his hand that was holding the phone. His serious face changes into a sad one. The other hand that was free covered his eyes.

_What on earth have I done…? _

* * *

Naruto played nervously with the buttons of his red shirt. He's been waiting in _his_ office about ten minutes from now. The young blond didn't mind if _that_ _man_ would be longer away anyway.

Something about that raven haired man scared the shit out of him. Maybe it was because he was too god damn calm, and not to mention very strong. He remembered the strong hold he had on him. He really couldn't move a muscle back then. The blond shivered when he spoke those words very close to his ear_. _He felt like his stomach flipped a few times when he said those few words. He bet it was from fear or just from shock. Well… it had to be one of those two, right?

But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering him. Would he get fired? That was the big question. He was actually afraid to hear the answer. Naruto knew that if a waiter performed an act like that… he would instantly be fired. That thought scared him the most.

He really hoped that Sakura would be left out of this. It wasn't her fault anyway, it was his. And that old shit bag! Naruto was determined and would make sure that the raven haired man understood that it was his fault too!

The young man sighed, obviously not comfortable with this unusual situation. And what was confusing him was _why_ he was feeling nervous instead of angry. He should be angry, right? Angry at that old shit bag, angry with that replace person, angry with Shisui angry at his… _father_… _He almost forgot about that. Wait, must be thinking that I hate him right now…_

So why was he nervous? Nervous because he would tell the truth? Well, then, there is nothing to be nervous about. He even had witnesses if they were needed. So what was it? Afraid to see that man again…? Afraid he wouldn't listen to him because he nearly yelled at him when he first saw him and that didn't leave him a good impression of himself? He sounded more like a spoiled child back then. Damn he just knew that the red-eyed man didn't like him. Who would if you'd been yelled at…at your first meeting?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt nervous. And it didn't help when he heard footsteps nearing. Naruto tensed. _This was it._

The footsteps were becoming louder. And that's when Naruto heard a low voice. Someone was talking. After a few seconds the young blond noticed that he heard only one voice. So that could mean two things; or this man was a total fruitcake that was talking against himself, or this man was talking through his mobile.

Naruto recognized that voice. There was no doubt that it was _him._ The blond mentally prepared himself. No he would not act like frightened little boy. Then he caught up some words; fight, table, chair, yes, blond, no, waiter, Shisui, wounded, money-… wait…_Shisui? Oh shit, he has Shisui on the line! _

They're probably going to decide whether he stays or goes. Naruto had a strong feeling that it was the last one. The blond heard some other words but he didn't really know what he said this time. It was almost like he was whispering right now.

Curious as he was, the blond stood slowly up from his seat and walked silently toward the door where the voice was coming from. He wasn't the person that would listen to someone's conversation, but it was about him as well… So he had the right to listen. But then the strangest thing happened. It all went quiet.

And what was even stranger is that the raven haired didn't open the door. If Naruto was right then he would have sworn that he heard his voice right behind his door. So maybe Shisui was talking endlessly to that man, but he also could have sworn that he heard that well known peeping sound. The sound what you hear when you hang up on someone.

_So did he just stand there in front of doors?_ Naruto frowned in confusion. Seconds went by… but to Naruto it was more like hours. It almost was like the time was getting slower and longer when he just stood there... waiting for something to happen.

Someday he really would curse his curiosity because he was about to reach for the handle, but someone else beat him. With a very fast swing the door flew open. The blond gasped in shock and stumbled backwards, landing on the hard floor. _Again._ He winched of the growing stinging feeling on his butt. That would leave a nasty bruise.

Naruto looked up. Blue met red eyes. The raven haired still had his hand on the handle looking down at the blond. His face was blank just like back then. He didn't say anything. He just looked at the blond for a few seconds. Somehow, Naruto forgot all about being nervous when he looked at the man and anger came instead.

"_Bastard__!_ Now you're doing it_ again_! This is the second time you haven't apologized! Man, this really is international 'be rude day'. And they are telling me not be rude? God dammit why don't you all jump in front of a train or something! Especially you,…_you replace-person!"_

Instantly after that, Naruto clamped a hand on his mouth. Shit he had done it again. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut! He quickly looked down, afraid to look at him. _Shit!_ He had done it again. Now he surely would be pissed off. And now he surely would lose his job… Man he really acts like a childish kid who thinks he could say whatever he wants.

He slowly looked up because in one way or another he had to confront the fact that he would get fired. He expected to see a very pissed off face and getting a few hard words back at him, but the tall man didn't do such thing. The blond surprised eyes widened at the sight.

The handsome man was smiling, no… _smirking_ at him. At that point Naruto suddenly felt very small and helpless. The tall man wore a pair of black pants and a dark red blouse, almost similar to his own. His hair hung freely, letting it slide down and it stopped after a few centimetres from shoulders. That was what you saw from the front, but it was much longer from the back. Naruto had seen that when he still had a low ponytail.

"_Uzumaki Naruto."_ The stunning man said slowly. Naruto flinched when he rolled out his name like that. It almost was like he wanted to know how it would sound like when he pronounced it.

"I presume this day wasn't one of your best."

_The young man really wished that moment that it was all a bad dream..._

* * *

**A/N**

Yes, a lot of talking and not much ItaNaru  
Well all in time.  
Next time more scenes with Naruto and Itachi. I promise

I want to thank you all for the very nice reviews and I think most of you were right! Yeah! :D  
So I'm going to keep writing and stop listing to my friend x

I really hope you guys liked this chapter. It was kind of long but I enjoyed writing it. I really like Sarutobi and Minato, I guess you noticed it while reading this chapter

Oh and I'm sorry it took so long! School is driving me nuts! This is really no excuse

_Thank you for reading and reviewing! ) _


	7. Chapter 7 Returning a favour

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 7 – Returning a favour**

* * *

Naruto frowned. _Of course it isn't one of my best days! Hell would you know mister genius!_

"No… not really." Naruto said back in a bitter tone. "To be honest… one of my worst." He whispered but Itachi heard it anyway. The blond let out a shaky sigh while he looked down at the white rose, which had falling from his chest pocket onto the expensive carpet. It was kind of a sad sight. The once beautiful rose, that was a symbol for the restaurant, just lay there with only a few petals left. A few more petals laid spread around the rose. _Was it a sign?_

Nevertheless he knew what came next. Naruto clenched his hands in a tight fist. But before this guy fired him, he would tell him the truth! He could already imagine that the old shit bag had made up some filthy lies. Lies that would surely will cost him his job. Not that those lies mattered anymore, because he would get fired anyway, with or without those lies. But somehow he wanted that Shisui would know the truth. Naruto didn't want Shisui to think of him as a spoilt little brat and nothing more. Or whatever that old man would make up to make him look bad.

He really hoped that this man would tell Shisui the truth too. He knew the chances were small since he knew that the raven haired man didn't like him… But it was worth a try.

His eyes were full of determination. The young blond took a deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes but instead of seeing eyes he saw something else. Naruto gasped in surprise.

A hand.

…The raven haired man just stood there reaching his hand out to him, waiting for a response from the blond that still looked surprised.

The silence was getting awkward but that didn't seem to bother the tall man. Naruto could see the tiny smirk on his face, like he was enjoying this moment. Naruto narrowed his eyes for a second. He didn't like that smirk...

Well… just sitting there and looking at his hand wasn't getting him anywhere and it would be considered rude if he didn't accept it, so he slowly raised his right hand and grabbed the raven haired man's warm, firm hand. The man's hand was much larger then Naruto's. Somehow… it felt… rather _comfortable _when he felt his hand warm up instantly

The raven haired male gave one strong pull and Naruto was already on his feet, but not before letting out a small gasp of surprise. Man, this guy sure is strong. Or he was just very light.

Naruto was suddenly surrounded by heat. He actually never had been this close to him, well, not from the front… W_rong thoughts! _The blond smelt that strong spicy sent again and it was making him dizzy so he quickly stepped backwards, only to _almost_ fall again. The strong man chuckled softly at the sight.

"Careful… I'm not going to help you up this time if you fall again," the raven haired said plainly but Naruto could also hear a hint of amusement.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. _What was he, a play toy to make fun of? This guy was just so strange._ He just didn't know what to make of the man.

The blond employee decided that this was a perfect time to explain himself. "Listen I didn't d,-"

Itachi interrupted him. "Why don't we sit down first." It wasn't a question, more like a statement. Naruto didn't like that tone at all. The raven haired man walked past him but accidentally brushed his hand against his arm. Itachi felt the blond stir, if he was a normal person he would laugh, but of course, he didn't. The boy had a big mouth, but inside he was a very unsure person. People like him were so easy to read. Itachi was kind of a disappointed. Not much of a challenge if it was really true.

Uchiha Itachi hadn't read the files of the Uzumaki's yet. He thought he would first check it out. So yesterday he went to the boy's his home. Unfortunately there wasn't anyone there. He thought that it would be much more interesting to speak him in person, since his little brother didn't want to reveal much information about him. It was ironic that he bumped into him that day. If he checked the files first he would surely recognize the blond. But it didn't matter now anyway.

Something about this blond interested him. It even surprised him that he would be interested in a person that he didn't really know or know anything about. He still had to find out what it was. But, of course, there was plenty time to find out, if the blond employee would cooperate with him. A voice in his head told him that it wasn't going to be that much of a problem.

Itachi took his place behind the desk and signaled for Naruto to do the same with a small wave of his hand. Naruto, on the other hand, just stood there for a moment, wondering why the man just didn't tell him that he's fired and to get lost and never to come here again for acting like a maniac in the garden or ruining the restaurant's reputation… something like that. But instead of that he politely offered him a seat? The confused blond frowned first. The dark haired man that already took his seat raised an eyebrow.

"Do you require a cushion?" He said, and this time the amused tone could easily be spotted. Naruto clenched his jaw tightly and glared at him. _This bastard._ If he didn't say it like '_that' _he would gladly say yes. His butt was still stinging like crazy but he wouldn't act like a wimp right now, and especially not in front of him, so he shook his head and walked to the chair and sat down, looking straight into his dark obsidian eyes. He quickly regretted it and looked somewhere else. _Those eyes were scary…_

Itachi cleared his throat. "Now then Uzumaki Naruto, w-" This time it was Naruto that interrupted him.

"Naruto will be fine, sir." Still looking everywhere except his eyes.

Itachi decided he didn't like that at all. The Uchiha stared at him for a moment before he spoke again. "_Naruto."_ He said in a low, _almost _purring, voice to get his attention, and it worked.

The blond made a little jump and quickly looked up. "Yes." Naruto answered immediately. He clamped his hand on his mouth again. _Damn that was loud! For god sakes calm down already?_

Itachi wanted to smile but decided to go against it. He almost knew that it would anger the little blond. "Would you like something to drink?" He offered politely.

The blond employee blinked a few times before he answered the question. "Uh…n- no, thank you sir." _Maybe he wasn't that much of a bastard. He actually seems very… polite and nice now._ Naruto thought. _But why wasn't he like that in the beginning?_

The raven haired man nodded once. He reached for his, already used, glass and filled it with water from the water jug that a waiter brought in a while ago. He silently took the glass with cool water to his lips while watching the blond. Naruto noticed it when he followed the glass with his eyes. When the glass was at his lips their eyes automatically met and, as expected, the blond quickly turned his head another way. An awkward silence filled the room.

Naruto was debating with himself that he maybe should take back his words… well more like his thoughts about him. He rather felt uncomfortable while he gazed at him like that, like the dark haired man was studying every reaction and move the blond would make. _This guy…_

The young boy's uncomfortable feeling didn't slip past Itachi. He finished his cool drink in one gulp before he began to speak again. "Why don't you start by explaining what happened?" He said in a calm voice while he laid his empty glass on the wooden desk with a soft thud.

Naruto gulped before he started, but somehow his eyes kept fixed on the man's chin.

"W-well it all started when… uh, that old guy was so… I was trying-…it happened when-… "He gave up with a loud sigh. Naruto closed his eyes. Itachi saw that the boy slowly raised his hand and laid a finger on his own chin. "You know sir… you have a droplet of water on your chin…" The raven haired slightly raised his eyebrows much to his amusement. "And… it's kind of,"

"…d-distracting me." He added the last words almost in a whisper.

"Oh?" Itachi said trying his best not to sound amused. "I apologize." His thumb slowly wiped the drop of cool water away and took it to his lips. A tiny smirk appeared on his face before he spoke again.

"Better?"

Naruto just stared at him. His face was slightly flushed.

_What's wrong with this guy? …Is he fucking toying with me! _

Itachi just took the silence as a 'yes'. He mentally snorted, yes, this could be what he would call fun. He had the feeling that toying with this boy wasn't going to get boring anytime soon. He never had the time to get to know people better. He also never bothered to. But _this_ was another story.

"So you were saying?" His voice was very calm. He reached for the water jug and refilled his glass again. You needed to drink a lot on hot days like this. Itachi always was a person that lived in a healthy way if you would talk about food, drink and working out.

The blond tried to calm down a little, it wouldn't help very much if he shouted his story. Naruto almost laughed when he thought that. He could almost see himself doing that.

Once again he took a deep breath and then he started to tell his story while the dark haired man listened patiently. The man didn't even interrupt him once, to Naruto's surprise. He really thought he would, because the blond _really thought_ that the old shit bag had made up some stories. He expected that the man would interrupt him at least once to say that it was all a lie, but he didn't do such thing at all. _Didn't he talk to the old man at all?_

"-Well and that's when you came and… stopped me hitting that old shi- I mean old man." Naruto stayed quiet after that... There was nothing to tell now anyway.

Itachi didn't care what happened in the garden, he just wanted to see how the blond showed his rather quick change of emotions when he talked. He was calm at first then mad when he began to talk about the old man. His anger calmed down and his face gained a sad expression when he talked about the; '_didn't your mother teach you any manners_' and he assumed it was because of the word '_mother'_. Then the blond employee suddenly started the get angry again and told the dark haired man that the man was extremely rude to the waitress called Sakura and all the other employment. The blond boy wouldn't want to admit it himself, but he was a very sensitive young male.

Naruto played nervously with his fingers under the desk. "So…I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you… I mean sir." He quickly corrected.

Itachi closed his eyes and nodded. "No need to _Naruto_," he told the blond in a deep husky voice.

Why does it always feel like someone left the window open so that Naruto could feel a cold breeze struck him, with shivering as result, when the man said his name like… _that! _

_Quit it already!_

"S-so… do I get…fired?" Naruto said eventually.

Itachi opened his eyes, seeing the blond watching him without looking away this time, with a little glint of hope in his beautiful blue eyes. Anybody would find the look he had now … cute. Even Itachi did… _just a little…of course. _And no one would like to fire someone who was looking at them with a spark of hope.

It was all up to Itachi now; if he would fire the young employee or not. Almost like _that_ contract. He had seen that Naruto had already signed, but Itachi could still refuse. He was a born devil if he fired _and _refused to sign the contract. But, of course, that would be so low to do. It was already unfair that the raven haired knew the boy's identity and the boy didn't know his. If Itachi would tell him now, he predicted that the young male would be angry again for toying with him. He didn't want that. _Yet_.

He, of course, _had _to fire him, but he always could arrange something with Shisui. And knowing Shisui… he wouldn't dare to fire a boy that was looking at him with big blue hopeful eyes. Just a moment ago, when he talked through the phone with Shisui, he had been told that his friend, Shisui, and the young Uzumaki were getting along just fine and he hated the idea if he would fire his cheerful blond employee one day.

Shisui had also told Itachi that it was _his _responsibility now since he didn't wasn't there when it happened so it seemed unfair to judge the boy. So Shisui said to his friend he had to decide now whether to send him away or to keep him. When Shisui said that, Itachi could hear, through the phone, the sadness in his voice. Itachi knew Shisui better. He didn't want to be seen as a weak person to Itachi so he tried to act tough but he just couldn't fire the little guy himself so he let Itachi deal with it and silently hoped that the Uchiha wouldn't. The blond didn't know anything about Itachi being Shisui's friend or the easy arrangements between them so he took them as an advantage. He was determined to find out more about this emotional blond.

Itachi decided, "I tell you what, I won't," A small sound off disbelief escaped the blonde's throat. Naruto felt a rising relief, but the dark haired man wasn't finished. "…but you have to do something for me in return." _That_ made the blond frown in confusion. Itachi almost wanted to smile again seeing the confused look on his face, the blond had obviously never been in this kind of situation.

Naruto licked his dry lips unconscious. "Something like… returning a favour?" He answered softly after a moment of silence.

The man leaned lazily into his chair and nodded slowly while he hn'd.

Naruto started to think. _Returning a favour? _Well it couldn't be that bad._ Right?_ It wouldn't hurt to ask for what. He looked up toward the man. He was staring at him with those piercing eyes, waiting patiently for the blond to answer.

Naruto hesitantly began to speak. "So… what do I have to do?"

This time, the raven haired man did smile a bit. Itachi was about to tell him when a sound interrupted him.

...A phone rang, which made Naruto jump in surprise while Itachi's face remained blank, hiding the fact that he was slightly annoyed.

* * *

"Sasuke… Is it ready?"

"…" _No answer._

The person tried again. "…Sasuke? You're not listening…" said the young male with growing irritation in his voice.

"Hello! Earth to Sasuke!" Another voice said. The loud person waved his hand hyperactively in front of Uchiha's face, but Sasuke didn't even blink once. He just sat there and stared at the piece of paper in his hand.

"You mean Mars, Suigetsu. …You know, the place where you used to live before you moved to Venus," the first person said sarcastically.

"Shut up Neji! The planet Venus is for girls and boys are from Mars! So in that case, you should belong on Venus! You're after all more a girl then a guy!" Suigetsu started shake his white hair to make it dance, just like in some commercial for woman's shampoo. "Oh look at me! I'm Neji with such pretty long hair."

Neji tightened his fists. "Why _you_…"

"You started it," Suigetsu said plainly. He mentally cheered, knowing that he won this one but Neji wasn't finished yet.

"You really are a little annoying child you know that… " Neji sighed while he removed a few hair strands and put them behind his ear. "Fine. If you want to be from Mars, go ahead. I won't stop your childish fantasies."

"What! You started it with the whole Mars-Venus-thing you moron!" the white haired male spat back.

The long haired brunette shrugged. "Yeah and you're so stupidly childish to respond to it. …Well, it was expected that you would take it seriously since your mother still reads stories to you."

Suigetsu clenched his jaw before he responded. "W-what! That's not true! Don't listen to him Juugo!" The white haired man said while he looked at the man called Juugo.

The tall man, with the spiky brunette-orange hair, that was _supposed _to be practicing on the drums sighed and lowered his head. _Why look at me?_ He wondered why he actually would care what Suigetsu's mother did or didn't do… He rolled his eyes and while the two continued with their little fight. D_id these two ever stop…? _The tall man could never practice in silence if these two were around.

"Fuck you!" Suigetsu shouted.

"No thank you." Neji said nonchalant, he knew that it would annoy his fellow band member. His lips curled into a satisfying smirk. The young white haired man made a fist and was about to hit that smirk off of his face when an angry voice stopped him.

"For god sakes shut the fuck up! I can't concentrate if the both of you keep bitching in the background about planets, fucking hair and other useless things!"

The two young men stared at the young raven who stared at them in silence. His dark eyes were almost literality burning holes into their skin. The two males flinched.

"Language, Sasuke, language," Neji said after a while in serious tone. The brunette pointed his thumb towards the guy standing right next to him. "You're giving the kid a bad example." Suigetsu growled at him, which made the smirk only widen on Neji's face. _Suigetsu sometimes couldn't stand him. He was even older than him!_

"Stop it Neji." Sasuke said in a low threatening tone. There was a long awkward silence that Suigetsu eventually broke. "So Sasuke… Finished the all-so-great solo already?"

"No."

"…So when will it be ready?"

"Don't know."

Suigetsu continued. "…Have you already started yet?"

"Hn."

"…Is that a yes or a no?"

"Hn."

After that, nobody said anything. Nobody would ever understand the 'hn' language anyway but Suigetsu wanted to say something again.

Neji warned Suigetsu in silence to go no further. Something was strangely off with Sasuke today. The long haired brunette guessed that the other two band members already noticed that too. _Well… maybe not for Suigetsu…_

His eyes went to Juugo who just shrugged in response. Most of the time Sasuke was very active when it came to practicing and writing songs but today, he wasn't; he kept spacing out while he looked at the piece of paper that only contained a few staves for a beginning of a solo guitar piece. There was a performance soon and they wanted to be part of it. They already signed in, but with no songs… no performance. It was as simple as that. The songs that they already knew weren't good enough for their likes.

They had the honor to do two songs when most of the bands in the city, who also signed in, just had one song they could perform. Not that they were famous or anything but you could say they were pretty well known. They were known as the_ Entrap_. They would play one song with the whole group and one solo performance, which Sasuke was working on it right now. It was also Sasuke that would perform the solo.

It would take place at a place called the _Rising Star._ The Rising Star was a popular nightclub, especially to students. Almost every day at night time, it was really crowded.

The white haired turned to Neji and Juugo, now that the Uchiha was acting like a stoned person. "Don't you think that it maybe would be a good idea to have a girl in the band?"

This time Sasuke looked up. "Why?"

Suigetsu made a little jump, not expected Sasuke to answer. He turned around, facing the Uchiha. "Well it would maybe lighten things up you know and many bands have only boys in the group. So maybe we could get a girl for a change."

Neji just couldn't slide this one away. "Having trouble getting a girlfriend?"

Suigetsu was about to yell at him but Sasuke wouldn't let him go so far. "What would she do?"

The white haired thought for a moment. Then he spoke. "A vocalist I guess."

"Anyone in mind?" Sasuke said plainly but curiously at the same time.

Suigetsu didn't answer that one. He looked at Neji, who shook his head as answer. The three of them sighed.

Then they heard Juugo say the impossible. "Karin?"

The three young men instantly turned their heads to Juugo. The three also said the same thing at the same time.

"_No!_"

Juugo laughed hollow and sweat dropped again. "…It was just an idea. I di-"

"Yeah, the worst idea ever in history! Damn it Juugo just don't speak at all! Now you've mention _her_ I won't sleep at all tonight…" Suigetsu spat.

Neji snorted. "Maybe you could ask your mother to tell a bedtime story,"

"…Like she always does." Neji quietly added.

The man behind the drums mentally sighed. _There we go again…_Juugo let his head fall onto one of the drums with a loud thud, while the two starting to fight again. Sasuke sighed and stood up to leave the studio to go somewhere quieter to continue the solo song that would be performed by his guitar.

* * *

Naruto looked at the tall man with big eyes. "Sorry…I-I guess I forgot," he said while he was searching through his pockets. He was ashamed of himself, forgetting to turn out his cell phone… _So stupid!_

When he finally had it, he apologized again. The raven haired man just nodded and signed for him to pick up the phone. Naruto did so.

"…H-hello?" Naruto said softly.

"It's me," an older man answered.

"Dad?" Naruto said in surprise. He never expected him to call. The blond saw some movement in the corner of his eyes, the man across him shifted slightly.

"How are you?" The voice said through the phone.

"Well fine I guess…"

"That's good," his father said cheerfully.

_Silence…_

Naruto glanced at the raven haired man, finding him looking at him. The blond felt a little uncomfortable while the man stared at him like that; he felt like he was some kind of a study subject again. _Didn't he have some paperwork to do?_

"Uhm…Dad?" Naruto started hesitantly.

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

"I'm kind of in… an important conversation right now."

"Oh! I'm terribly sorry son but you still need to hear this." Naruto raised an eyebrow. His old man sounded really excited. So the blond became curious, but he also would try to speed _this_ conversation up so he could continue the first one.

The young employee found it rather impolite if he just had a 'happy son and father talk' right in front of the man's nose. The dark haired man gave him a chance to keep his job and he really hoped he wouldn't change his mind if he was finished with the phone call.

"So spill it dad."

There was a pregnant pause before his father answered, loud and very happy. "I've been promoted! I'm going to be the new director of SakuQ!"

Naruto's eyes instantly widened. He abruptly stood up from his seat, almost letting his chair fall backwards. "You're going to be the new boss of SakuQ!" He repeated to himself, as if he had to say it first before he could actually believe it. "No way! That's great dad! You really deserve it. Congratulations!" Naruto said in a loud but cheerful way. He really was happy for his dad.

The younger male laughed softly. "I bet your colleagues are all jealous right now."

"No. You're the first one who knows. Well… including Asuma and Sarutobi and well a few other people."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Really? That's awesome!"

Naruto really wanted to talk more with him, but he just couldn't let his… _replace_ boss wait all the time.

"Naruto…" The once cheerful voice changes into a concern one. "You know…Now that you know that I've been promoted doesn't mean you have to feel obligatory to sign the contract."

"..."

The young blond sighed. "Dad…I already signed the contract."

"…Really! …Why?" The voice through the phone said in surprise.

"Well you know…" Naruto sat down again. "It couldn't be that bad. I mean it's not like we're going to live with each other. Or go on a date. Or go shopping together." The young male laughed softly. "It's just a piece of paper. It means nothing to me. This Itachi guy probably will think the same."

Naruto saw again some movements in the corner of his eyes. He guessed the dark haired man was getting impatient.

_Boy was he wrong…_

"Wow… you're really positive about this you know," the older male said after a moment.

"Yeah, I was angry at first but… it wasn't your fault and all so…"

"_I'm sorry dad,_" he added in a sad tone. He really felt like crying for hurting his father before but, of course, he didn't. _He was nineteen years old for god sakes!_

"…Naruto, you know there is nothing to be sorry about. I probably would be pissed at my father too if I heard something like that. You have every right to be angry."

Then Naruto suddenly heard another voice through the phone, guessing it was someone who probably spoke to his father. He heard his father say something like: Yeah, will be right there. Five minutes.

The older male began to speak again. "Sorry son but it's a madhouse over here, so I really need to get back to work again."

"No, no I understand, but thanks for calling me and being the first to know," Naruto said with a smile.

The young male heard a low chuckle after he finished the sentence. _Uh?_ _Did I say something fun-… _Then he understood why. Naruto wanted to smack his head against a wall for being that stupid. He just shouted out loud that his father was going to be the new boss of SakuQ. But still… Naruto mentally shrugged. Not that it was going to be the end of the world now that the dark haired man knew. It probably was not interesting news for him.

"Then I'll see you next weekend son. Have fun at school tomorrow and success with your,"

There was a pregnant pause again.

"…_Important conversation_?" His father said in confusion. Naruto gulped and the older male continued.

Minato sounded very suspicious. "Say, what kind of conversation is it really?"

Naruto decided this was a perfect time to end this. "No time dad got to go now. See you next weekend. Bye, bye now," the young male said in a hurry, giving his father no time to reply, and hung up.

_Beep, beep, beep…_

_Somewhere in a high building on the cafeteria floor, a blond man looked at his phone like it was something that fell from the sky and had never seen it before._

A heavy sigh left Naruto's lips. If his father knew he was at the edge of getting fired… Well since the man across him could change that, then there was nothing to worry about and his father never had to know about this. He looked up, only to find... an empty chair. _What the…?_

His head turned slowly around to look for the missing m-… Eyes blinked a few times before he realized what he saw. He saw a _shirtless _man... He already switched his blank pants to a pair of black jeans and also had other shoes on. Naruto couldn't do much but stare. If he looked closely he even could count a few droplets of transpiration falling slowly from his shoulders down his spine. Somehow Naruto kept staring.

The raven haired was changing his blouse for a new one when he noticed the blonde's gaze. After a few seconds, the younger male still hasn't said anything yet so Itachi looked up to see a flushed face that quickly looked into another direction. He inwardly smirked when he heard the blond mumble the word sorry. Itachi acted like he didn't hear it. They were both males so why was he acting so shy?

He saw that the boy was waiting rather uncomfortably, within the whole situation that was now occurring… He actually expected him to say something like, what the hell are you doing? Or, what kind of person are you to do that at a time like this? It seemed like he was even too shy to say that.

Itachi started to think. The phone conversation with the boy's father did bring him a whole supply of some… very _useful _information. He could even hear the older man's voice through the phone. He now knew that, not counting the so-called 'little fight,' he and his father had a good relationship. The young male hid the fact that he was very close for getting fired, that maybe could be useful some day. He didn't see his father till Saturday that _also_ could be convenient.

But the most important thing of all: Uzumaki Minato had been promoted to the new director of SakuQ. This was getting better and better, now he had more reasons to marry this blond. Not only because it would be amusing to keep toying with him, but also the fact that he could get closer to secret files that were hidden in the company building soon to be from Uzumaki Minato. Just like he did with those women… Used them to get information and then just dumped them. They were company whores anyway, they slept with every man that had a high status and lots of money. But since he was stuck to a contract for at least a half year…

"S-so… what do I have to do?" Itachi, who was finished with changing, looked up to see that the blond still had his back to him.

"I apologize. It was considered very rude of me to do that," Itachi said calmly.

Naruto head turned around to look at him. Somehow he felt relieved now he was fully dressed. "Don't sweat it. I should be the one that would apologize. I forgot to turn my cell phone off… And my father really wanted tell me so-"

"Yes, I heard, "the raven haired man interrupted." Congratulations."

That made the blond smile a bit. "Thanks. But you know… it would be great if you wouldn't tell anyone about it…"

"Hn."

There was an awkward silence that Itachi broke after some time. "A client of mine is having an exposition soon you could say something like a party. It's three days from now, on a Wednesday."

Naruto was confused; why would the raven haired man tell him something like that? He got the feeling that he would find out soon.

Itachi continued. "There are going to be many guests but there is a shortage of waiters." He looked at the blond who probably knew where this was going. "I'm giving you a second chance to prove yourself worthy before you will serve the White Rose again." He said in a bored tone, like he said things like this all the time.

Naruto frowned. "So… I don't get to work here until I have proved myself at that party?"

"Hn."

Naruto suddenly remembered the phone conversation between the raven haired man and Shisui. "What did Shisui say about this?"

_Clever boy. _"Shisui agreed," Itachi lied. He didn't lie often, almost never but Itachi wasn't the real boss here, Uzumaki wasn't_ his _employee, so the blond could easily refuse if Shisui didn't know any of this. Shisui only gave him the power to fire him or choose not to. Since his friend didn't know anything about having a 'proof-test' on his employee, the chance would be high that he would disapprove at first. But… if he recalled it himself, it wasn't such a bad idea at all. And Shisui was easy to convince, if it was Itachi. So, all in all, it could be arranged and it would be. He just had to talk to Shisui first. So he decided to call him in the evening.

Naruto mouth formed into an o-shape. "…Okay then. Where? And what time?"

_Too easy. _"It will be in the first Sphinx building, " Itachi explained. "On the thirty-seventh floor. It will start at ten A.M. Once you get there I will be waiting there for you."

Naruto spoke hesitantly, "And…That's it…?"

The tall man nodded once. "Yes."

Naruto began to think while the dark haired man walked past him, taking his seat again behind the desk. _Well this is better than getting fired. I just have to play the 'nice waiter' part and then everything will be okay. Right? And Shisui even agreed. So this couldn't be that bad. _

The man opened his suitcase to search for something. While he searched through his black suitcase, he looked occasionally to the blond employee. He could see that he was still having trouble on making his decision, but Itachi knew that he would agree anyway so there was nothing to worry about. He found the single sheet under the paperwork from his work. He laid it on the desk while one hand grabbed a folded piece of paper from his pocket. The blond still hadn't looked at him. _Good._

He wrote something down on the sheet, which he pulled out from under his mountain of paperwork. Then he folded it just like the paper he had found. Now everything was ready. The raven haired male decided that he had given the younger enough time to think. He looked at his watch. Itachi had to be at the police station in a half of hour. He gladly would stay here and study the blond male more but there wasn't enough time for that, but that will be in some other time.

"What is your answer,_ Naruto_?"

Naruto woke up from his thoughts and looked at the handsome man who also looked back at him. They looked to each other for a few seconds. Somehow Naruto felt his heart speeding up when the dark haired man looked at him with such heat in his eyes. It almost made it impossible to refuse.

"Okay, I will do it," Naruto said with determination in his voice. His hand went automatically up to shake his hand but once he did that he began to doubt that it wasn't even necessary. This wasn't a first meeting, a business deal and no friendly handshake. This was just a 'returning a favour'.

So he quickly decided that take back his hand.

He never got the chance.

A warm hand took his in a firm grip that made Naruto flinch in surprise. The blonde's eyes went from the joined hands to the stunning man that had a smirk on his face. It was the same smirk he had when he wanted to help him of the floor.

Naruto gained a flushed face.

Itachi watched as the blond tried to free his hand with a little tug, but Itachi wouldn't let him. He noticed the small bracelet on Naruto's wrist.

"What's this? A bracelet?" Not looking away from the bracelet.

Naruto looked confused at first but when he saw where the raven haired man looked, he understood. "Good eyes," Naruto said in a sarcastic way.

Itachi raised a thin eyebrow.

Naruto took this as a 'that is not what I meant'. "It was a gift from my mother," he answered after a while. Once again, Itachi saw the sadness in his eyes when he mentioned the 'mother' part.

"Isn't this stuff for girls?" The man spoke honestly.

Immediately, Naruto went from a sad to a furious expression. He didn't like what the man said at all. Itachi, on the other hand, found it rather amusing to see such quick change of mood.

"No it isn't! Why do people always say that? I don't get you guys at all! I like it and it's valuable to me so sh-"

Itachi chuckled which made Naruto stop abruptly and frown. "You really are an amusing boy _Naruto,_" the stunning man said with a small smile on his face. The blond stared at him with an open mouth. Naruto decided that he really liked it when he smiled like that, even if it was just a little smile…

But what didn't penetrate him at first is that he called him _boy_ again. The blond clenched his jaw and moved his lips to say something against it but stopped at the sudden movement the tall man made. He stood up and closed his suitcase but not before he took a folded piece of paper from the mountain of paper. Naruto watched him with curiosity in his eyes.

Red eyes found blue eyes. "Now it's time for me to leave. If you have any more questions you can ask them now," the tall man stated.

"…Are you going already? But the day isn't over yet."

The man was silent for a while. "That's not for you to worry about I already made arrangements with Shisui through the cell phone. As for you," Naruto gulped, "You're not allowed to work here from now on, that is of course if you do well on your test."

_Test?_

Then a question popped into his head. "You know... I saw you yesterday. You bumped into me, remember? What were you doing there? If I may ask of course…" It would be weird if this guy lived there too. Well he surely would have notice him.

Itachi stared at him while Naruto waited patiently for him to answer. The blonde's eyes had a glint of confusion and curiosity. "I was visiting a relative," he said plainly. Again a lie of course. "And I apologize for that. Did I hurt you?" His voice changed into a more intimidated one.

Naruto immediately shook his head and laughed softly, "Oh no, no! I was just… surprised, you know."

"Hn." Itachi noticed that the little blond had become looser around him. Too bad that it was going to change soon…

"Is that all?" He questioned.

Naruto nodded, "Hm. That's all. Thank you for your time."

He grabbed his suitcase. "I'll take my leave now. And I think you should too." He walked towards the door, stealing one glance at the blond before picking up a black bag that contained the clothes he was wearing a moment ago. Itachi exited the room, leaving the young male behind who watched him disappear behind the door.

* * *

"Congratulations Minato."

The blond man stopped reading his files and looked up to see Asuma smiling at him. The man walked towards him and lifted his hand. Minato smiled back and stood up from his seat, taking his hand and shook it a few times.

"You really earned it," Asuma said honestly.

The blond laughed hollowly. "Yeah I really earned this," he said with a mocking voice.

Asuma snorted and released his hand. "Don't get too cocky Uzumaki."

Minato shrugged. "I'm not you, you know." Asuma raised an eyebrow at his blond friend. Then he laughed softly, "You wish."

Minato was about to say something if it wasn't for his cell phone. The blond male quickly picked up the phone.

"Naruto?"

"…"

"_Uzumaki_," a low but familiar voice answered.

A small sound escaped his throat in surprise, eyes widened. _That voice…_

"You need to come at once. _This doesn't look good._"

* * *

Itachi was at the exit when he heard someone call his name. He didn't have to turn around to see who it was. Instead, he grabbed his black leather jacket and put it on. When he was ready he turned around, he saw a young blond male in front of him, panting slightly.

"You know…" Naruto laughed softly at him. "I really didn't catch your name. …It would be weird if I just keep calling you _replace person_. And…"

"Sorry about that…" Naruto added softly.

Itachi just looked at the young boy with a blank face. He wanted to smirk but that would ruin everything. What the dark haired man did next surprised the blond. He crouched down to Naruto's height and looked him straight in the eyes, which made him jump a little. He was very close and he was intruding his personal space. Naruto smelled his spicy sent again and could feel his heat embracing him.

"All in time… _Uzumaki Naruto_." Naruto's eyes widened for a second before he tried to look normal again. Itachi looked satisfied. He kept his eyes on the boy's blue once for a moment before he stood up straight and turned around to walk outside. But Naruto just stood there seeing the tall man leave the White Rose. _What was that all about?_ _The way he said that was so...weird. _He watched the man unlocking the chains of his motorcycle and t-…

_Wait a motorcycle… That's so cool! _Naruto thought. It was a big black one. Naruto gapped. The blond really wished that he had leather jacket and that it would also look good on him _and_ wished he had a cool motorcycle like that… But he was even afraid to get his car licence. He was like… _so un-cool_. He watched as the mysterious man rode away with an incredible speed. He didn't want to admit it but… he found the dark haired guy sort of…interesting.

When the motorcycle was out of sight, Naruto sighed. He turned around and walked towards the employee-room to gather his stuff and to go home.

* * *

Itachi stopped for a red light. The Uchiha always loved to ride at maximum speed. Unfortunately that was illegal and since he was also in the police force, he knew what kind of trouble it would be if you broke the law. Sometimes he really hated his job.

His mind went to somewhere else. He thought back when he crouched down to look at the blond. The look that the blond gave him was so… he actually couldn't describe it, but he would love to see that expression again it was defiantly _amusing_. But what the young male hadn't even noticed was when he silently shoved the folded paper in his pocket.

He almost could imagine the face he would make when he found out. It turned green and the Uchiha took off with a lot of noise and speed towards his second job. If he had time enough he would look through the Uzumaki files. Maybe there was still something interesting to discover. He met Uzumaki Naruto and knew who his father was, but he didn't know anything about his mother. _Yet._

_Somewhere in the employment room a young male looked at a piece of paper in disbelieve. __His colour on his face faded away._

"_WHAT THE…!"_

* * *

**A/N**

Well I hope you enjoyed it! As for me, I think it was fun to do this chapter. I also enjoyed writing the Sasuke scene

And people if you see/read any errors please report it to me, because even if I read it fifty times, I sometimes can't see the mistakes I have made. It would really help.

There is going to be a lot more happening so this isn't going to be just a boring love story. S

Anyways, thank you for reading my story and please Review 


	8. Chapter 8 Panic

**Author: **M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing: **ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating: **M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** MarsInsane, Imperial Mint

**Summary: **Naruto never expected this. It was all because his father lost a bet. A bet that would change his normal life but not only his life… Unexpected things will happen… A story about love, friendship and Betrayal. ItaNaru slight NaruSasu

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 8 – Panic**

* * *

"Call an ambulance! Naruto is turning white!" A pink haired girl shouted. She stilled when she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see that her blond friend that still had a very pale face. His head shook 'no', it told her that it wasn't necessary to call for an ambulance. Sakura nodded once and Naruto sat down.

The pink haired employee looked at her colleagues and her face told them that calling wasn't needed anymore. Sakura examined Naruto's pale face. It almost looked like he'd seen a ghost. Sakura's eyes sadden. She crouched down by the sitting blond, but Naruto didn't even look up to her. He didn't have a sad expression, more like a shocked one. Sakura also saw that her blond friend looked at a piece of paper before he freaked out. She guessed it was a dismissal letter. It couldn't be anything else…

"Naruto…"

The blond employee didn't answer.

Sakura tried to cheer him up. She really didn't liked the sad Naruto that sat right here. "Naruto it's okay, you'll find a new job. I'll even help you find one," she said with a small smile on her face.

The blond male shook his head and Sakura looked confused.

"It's not that Sakura… I'm not fired."

Sakura blinked. "Really? But that's great! Then why in god sakes are you so down? You should be glad."

Naruto sighed. "Yeah…"

Her cheery face slowly faded and frowned. "Naruto…? Everything okay?"

It was quiet for a moment, then Naruto shrugged and stood up, grabbing his back in process. "Well to tell you the truth… no," with that, he left the employers room, leaving his pink haired friend alone in confusion.

Naruto didn't want to be an ass by just leaving her like that, because he knew that Sakura was only trying to help him, but he really wanted to be alone right now. He was changing clothes when he found the… wrong folded paper. And that could only mean one thing.

Naruto clenched his hands into powerful fists.

_That BASTARD! He was toying with me the whole god damn time! That…that…_

_Bastard of an Uchiha!_

He mentally cursed him, he should have known! He was just too busy thinking about getting fired, that he even missed the simple clues. The look when the blond first saw him, he thought he kind of looked like Sasuke. And he had that same annoying character that was almost similar to Sasuke's. _And _the 'Hn' language…_Jus like Sasuke…_ He really felt so stupid!

While he was changing into his normal clothes, he found, instead of _his _contract, another contract with the same purpose as his one did. But this one… was from Uchiha Itachi _and _it already had his signature on it. The only thing was missing now was his own signature.

If Itachi already signed _this _one he could also already sign _his_ contract that the Uchiha had in his possession now. So that _could_ mean that it would be _his_ decision now. Sign it or not.

Naruto was so confused. He never expected to meet the older Uchiha like this, seeing him as a waiter. He didn't know why, but somehow he felt kind of embarrassed. And why would he trade the papers? He even became suspicious of the whole test-thing, was it really real?

Naruto dragged his bag behind him while he walked towards the exit. A few curious people looked at him and began to whisper things. The blond honestly didn't care, he just kept his eyes on the contract. Because what could be worse than this? The young male thought while folding his contract.

Naruto stopped walking and blinked, still looking at the contract that was now folded. There was something written on the corner:

_Next Thursday_

_First Sphinx building_

_Thirty-seventh floor, _

_Ten A.M_

The blond employee narrowed his eyes in anger. _This guy…_

_Really planned all THIS!_

Naruto could have sworn he hadn't seen the raven haired man write something down. So that could only mean a few things. He already knew his identity before he even walked into the office. So Naruto could only guess that he lost the folded paper while he was in the garden while serving those fools or… He did write something while he was on the phone with his father so th-…

Naruto's blue eyes widened instantly. He had heard the whole conversation with his dad. So that means…

_SHIT! So he also heard… that my father is getting promoted! _He wasn't one hundred percent sure that the Uchiha already signed the contract he had now, but if he didn't… he could always refuse to and that would mean that his dad… _oh no! Stupid, stupid! Naruto you idiot!_

If Uchiha Itachi would tell his father about it, then…

Naruto growled in frustration that made even more people look at him in confusion. The blond really wanted to yell at them, but decided against it. It would probably only make things worse. He looked down again at the piece of paper.

…_He even wrote this down in case I would forget! That… THAT…! _

_Can this day get any worse!_

The gods would laugh at him and say, yes, because the second he walked out of the restaurant, it started to rain. Naruto gave up with a loud sigh and let his head hang, covering his eyes with his hair bangs that had already started to get wet. _Why me…?_

He didn't have an umbrella with him. The blond actually never expected it to rain. When he raced towards his work today, he noticed that the sky was cloudless today and the sun was shining brightly. And it hadn't changed when he was serving in the garden. The change in the weather must have happened when he was with… that _man_.

Naruto looked to the right. His bike, which he locked off with chains, would be wet by the time he got there. And to make the situation even worse, it even started to rain harder. He looked to his left and to his right when his ears picked up an annoying sound, he heard a car hooting. Naruto mentally groaned. He really hated that sound right now it was giving him a headache.

He noticed, while he walked towards his bike, that the sound didn't stop, so he looked up to find the source. It came from across the road. The blond wiped a few sticky hairs away and took a good look at the car. He recognized that car. A young man stepped out and waved at him. Naruto looked a bit surprised. _Kiba? Now that's weird._

The spiky haired brunette smiled at him and waved at the blond for him to get into his car. Naruto looked firstly, at his red bike before he ran to the other side off the road, shielding the rain off with his sweater. He waved weakly back at his friend while he ran towards him. Then Kiba took his seat and waited for the blond to step in too.

Naruto stepped quickly in and almost slammed the door. Kiba frowned. "What did I tell you about the door?" He said, almost sounding amused. "You break, you pay." Naruto just sighed in answer. The brunette's frown deepened. This could only mean one thing. Something 'not great' had happened. _Again_. _What was it now?_

"Something wrong Naruto?"

Naruto ignored his question. "What are you doing here Kiba?" the blond said, while looking out of the window.

It was quiet for a moment.

"Picking you up of course," Kiba answered honestly. "It's pouring, in case you didn't notice."

"How did you know I was here? I suppose to have a day off."

Again a short pause before the brunette answered. "Your dad called me. He said it was pouring outside, so here I am."

Naruto wasn't satisfied with that. "But you don't live _that _close. It would take at least fifteen minutes to get here," the blond said dryly.

Kiba played with his car keys. _What's all with these questions?_ "I was around," he answered plainly. "Lucky for you," Kiba added with a small forced smile.

"Oh," was Naruto's short reply. Naruto didn't want to be so bold towards his friend, but since that Itachi guy, more like, toyed with him, he suddenly had difficulties to trust anyone at the moment. Kiba started his car. "We'll pick up your bike tomorrow, okay?" Naruto nodded in response.

Five minutes went by while Kiba drove. "So do you want to go get something to drink?" Since the moment Naruto stepped into his car, the blond had only looked outside. But this time, he turned his head towards the brunette. "We have school tomorrow."

"So? That didn't stop you before," he said with a sly grin on his face.

Naruto shrugged, "Fine."

This time Kiba looked a bit surprised, he had expected that his friend would have preferred to go home. The brunette saw in the distance that the traffic lights were turning red, so he slowed down his car until he totally stopped. His head turned towards the blond.

"So… Are you still going tell me what happened?"

Naruto closed his eyes. "…Later. Need a drink first."

Kiba sighed. _Here we go again…_

* * *

A door slammed open and a middle-aged male entered the dark room in a hurry, closing the door behind him with a hard slam that made the people inside the room jump a little. The man was panting lightly. A dark haired man in the room guessed he must have run. But who could blame him since this was urgent. Nobody liked to hearing what would about to be said.

The blond man who just came in began to speak. "W-well?" He panted.

The man in charge sighed deeply and looked at the man. "Not good news. _He's_… on free feet…'

Eyes instantly widened from shock and surprise. The blond man knew that it wasn't going to be good news, but he didn't expected to be this bad. "_What!_ How could this happen?"

"…Because of the lack of evidence. He's really a sneaky bastard," the man added and paused for a few seconds before speaking again. "I'm sorry _Minato_. We did everything to keep him locked up. But in the end… _we lost_."

Minato covered his sad and shocked look with his hand. He spoke sadly and softly. That murderer sat in jail for quite some time and even after _years _of investigation they still hadn't found enough _evidence _to lock him up for good?. Minato looked lost for a moment. "You did everything you could do _Fugaku._ It isn't your fault."

An awkward silence filled the room…

Another young male in the room spoke. "Some of my agents are also saying that it could be possible that some of his men threatened the jury." If that was true what good is a jury?

The blond male stood up straight, removing his hand that covered his face. "Since when?"

"Yesterday, at seven in the morning," the Uchiha answered immediately. "But that isn't the real thing what is bothering us…"

Minato felt fear rising. "W-what is it?" The blond was afraid to hear the answer.

This time he heard a female voice. "Don't worry, my little brother is with him now. Just stay calm."

The blond heard the woman but ignored her and repeated his question. "I _said_ what is it Fugaku?" He said, this time in a firmer voice.

Fugaku looked straight at the blond, their eyes met and Minato knew that moment that he actually _really_ didn't want to hear this. "We lost track of him… The bastard just disappeared completely. My agents are pro's but knowing his background there is a high chance that the moment he left the prison he already had help from his comrades, _in other words_…-"

Minato prepared for the worst but it wasn't enough.

"…_We have absolutely no idea where he could be right now…"_

* * *

_-Tick, tick, tick… Tick, tick, tick… Tick, tick, RINGGGG!_

Itachi rolled over to push the button to make the very annoying sounds stop. He expected silence, but heard another alarm clock through the walls. It came from Sasuke's room. He tried to ignore the sound. It wasn't a success…

He really needed to go back to his own apartment.

_-Tick, tick, tick… Tick, tick, tick… Tick, tick, RINGGGG!_

Sasuke groaned and smashed his alarm clock from his table next to his bed. He yawned while he stretched his arm and legs.

_-Tick, tick, tick… Tick, tick, tick… Tick, tick, RINGGGG!_

Naruto yawned and slept further, successfully ignoring the alarm clock. Like always.

Hours went by and he was still sleeping peacefully.

His arm swung around and bumped onto something behind him. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal his blue eyes. He blinked a few times. His hand felt some movement and Naruto stirred. _What the…?_

A low groan was heard. That made Naruto jump quickly out from his warm bed and turn towards the intruder. A person was lying in _his _bed! He felt sharp sting rising in his head. He really had drunk a lot… Funny, cause Naruto wasn't the person who drank a lot.

His eyes could only detect the back of the person's head that poked out from the silk sheets. Naruto briefly started to panic. Did he sleep with someone? He couldn't remember! Was he _that_ drunk?

While Naruto was occupied with his own thoughts, the person in his bed turned slowly around, letting out soft moan. Naruto's frown deepened at the sight.

"_Kiba_! What the hell are you doing in _my bed!_?" The impatient blond shouted. Kiba looked at him with half lidded eyes and sighed in irritation. "Damn Naruto… you're so damn loud…" He muttered sleepy.

The thoughts the blond had a moment ago popped into his head again. Eyes widened in a fraction. "We… didn't like… sleep together, right?"

Kiba faced a shocked but also a flushed blond. A grin appeared on his sleepy face. "Yeah…" He spoke with a big smile. "And I'm sure I will never forget this…"

Naruto gasped in shock and his body completely stilled. Then Kiba laughed. "Just joking man…" He yawned. "So sorry to disappoint you, but I don't sleep with men only-" Kiba was shut up when he felt a soft kind of material hit his face. Although the cushion was soft, it was a hard blow and he was fully awake now. "What the hell…? Naru-"

Naruto clenched a hand onto a fist and gritted his teeth, "You _IDIOT!_" Naruto yelled. "You think that's funny! You scared the shit out of me! I hate you Kiba! I wish you would just die!" The blond was panting slightly after his outburst, which Kiba started to find cute. Naruto ignored his sneaky smile and repeated his question. "Then what the hell are you doing in my bed?"

Kiba just yawned. Naruto's fist was itching, begging to hit his face. "We're late."

Naruto looked dumbfounded at his response. That wasn't the answer he expected to hear. "What?" He asked, confused. The brunette rolled his eyes and pointed to the alarm clock. Naruto frowned first, not sure where he was getting at but then it struck him like a bomb.

"Shit! School!"

Kiba brushed a hand through his spiky hair. "Like I said, don't be so loud you're giving me a headache." He groaned loudly. "Why so shocked anyway? You are always late…"

Naruto instantly was by his side and slapped the back of Kiba's head with a flat Kiba winced and fell from bed with a loud thud. The brunette cursed softly, _now_ he really did have a headache. But Naruto paid no attention to that.

"Because we're three hours late you knock head! Now get the hell up!"

"Aren't we all moody today…" Kiba mocked.

"Yeah! And you're not helping!" Naruto mocked back.

He turned around and walked towards to bathroom, probably to have his shower. The brunette just watched him go, but instead of a sly grin, he had a worried look on his face. He heard him curse. "Goddamn it! My head is pouncing like hell!" The male who still lay on the ground also heard something like 'aspirin'. He really needed one of those, even when he didn't drink last night. His body protested with a groan when he slowly got up his feet only to let himself fall on the bed again. He clearly could remember what happened yesterday…

The young blond male placed his glass, which was still half filled with beer, on the wooden table with a loud thud and laughed loudly. The young male, who was sitting across him, closed his eyes and leaned his head on a knuckle while he listened to his friend's story. He mentally knocked his head against the wall of the bar where they currently staying. He shouldn't have brought him here. Yes, Naruto was speaking freely now because of all the drinks he had but he didn't expect that he just kept going with drinking.

"HA! Ahaha!… And then, and then!" The blond started, still laughing. "And then the bastard actually wrote on the _backside_ the address and all! Hahaha! _Can you believe it!"_ The brunette saw that Naruto narrowed his eyes and didn't laugh anymore. He slammed his fist on the table.

"_Tsk!_ Like I am _that _stupid, that I would forget something like that! Like I said, that arrogant bastard was just _toying_ with me all the time!" He growled and took another drink. When he was finished, he was about to sign the waiter to have another one when a hand around his wrist stopped him. Naruto turned his head instantly to Kiba and scowled.

Kiba ignored it. He looked at him straight in the eyes when he spoke. "That's enough Naruto. Enough." He said in a stern voice. If the blond were sober, Naruto would have flinched at his voice, but now he just looked at him with a blank face. He pulled his wrist free and stood up.

"That's for me to decide dog-lover." He turned around to walk towards the bar, probably to get another beer.

Kiba sighed and lowered his head. He knew that Naruto wasn't bold by nature, it was just the influence of the alcohol and the unexpected changes that just kept falling from the sky. Kiba heard the whole story, from being late again at the White Rose, to this guy named Itachi. Uchiha Itachi. The brunette was really feeling like punching that bastard! Naruto never drank too much, only if something serious happened, like failing a very important test from school… This of course was so much worse than that.

It never occurred to him that Uchiha Itachi was a sneaky bastard. He actually should have known since he heard a lot of his father, even met him a few times. Kiba promised himself that he would fully support him during this stupid marriage. Still he thought it was just to ridiculous to begin with. He should call Minato to say that this whole this was-

The brunette jumped a little when he heard his cell phone ringing. He looked at it and it showed his sisters name. Kiba's eyes widened a bit and quickly picked it up.

"Yes?" He said while he covered the other ear. He barely could hear a thing in this bar!

"We've got trouble," the woman through the phone said.

The young male narrowed his eyes. "Talk," he said seriously.

"…" There was a pregnant pause before the woman answered. "He's on free feet Kiba." A sound of surprise left his throat.

His sister continued. "It gets worse… We lost track of him and we haven't got the slightest idea where he could be right now."

Kiba cursed. "How is this possible Hana?"

The woman ignored his question. "Where are you now?"

"Out with him…"

"_What_!" his sister shouted. Kiba closed his eyes tightly due to her loud reply. "Get off you lazy ass and bring him home you imbecile! This is definitely a red alert!"

Kiba shouted back, "Didn't you think I would already think of that!" He heard some cursing through the phone that only made his temper worse. "Look we'll leave now so don't worry okay?"

"Fine, just make sure he comes home in one piece."

Kiba frowned. "Why wouldn't he?"

"Cause you're driving in a piece of junk!"

Kiba scowled, "Oh yeah? I'm always a better driver then you because you suck big time woman!"

With that, he pushed the button to end their little talk. Kiba smirked knowing that he had the last word and knew Hana hated that. His sister sounded very irritable. He knew… because that bastard had been let out from jail… But Kiba also wasn't in a very nice mood. He had to endure with a very drunken, emotional blond after all. He looked up to find him… but to his surprise he didn't see him.

A small sting of panic struck him as he looked around for his blond friend, still no sight of him. He quickly stood up. The feeling was getting worse by the second, and then… he heard a familiar laugh. _Naruto?_

He turned his head towards the sound and saw that the blond was speaking with an unknown man with long red hair. He could only see the backside from the man. He didn't know what they were talking about but he saw that Naruto laughed, so he supposed that it was something funny. Somehow Kiba tensed at the sight. He shouldn't talk to strangers in a time like this.

"Naruto!" he called with a hint of worry.

Naruto cocked his head and looked at the brunette. Then Kiba saw that the man patted the blonde's head, which made Naruto look at him again and smile, and then the tall red-haired man walked away towards the exit. Kiba's eyes automatically followed him. Somehow he already didn't like the man. He didn't get the chance to see his face but it didn't matter now. He hurried towards Naruto.

"Who was _that?_" He asked suspiciously.

Naruto looked at him with half lidded eyes and had trouble with standing straight. He was about to say something but then he suddenly stumbled forward. Kiba reacted quickly and caught him, holding him tight and securely. It would leave a nasty bruise if he fell on the hard floor. He glanced at the bartender and gave him a nod. The middle-aged man returned a nod. The bill would go straight to his bank account.

The brunette looked down at the blond who was currently sleeping against him. He was so happy that he parked his car near the bar. It would be such a pain if he had to drag him if the car wasn't anywhere near. Kiba pulled one of Naruto's arms behind the back his neck. When they were outside Naruto began to mumble.

"Pfff… He was… the first guy… that…ac-tu-a-lly…_liked _my… neck…lace…and… brace…let…"

Kiba raised an eyebrow and looked at him. The young man's eyes were still closed when he spoke again.

"…and…I…_laughed_…" After that, the blond spoke no more, he was sleeping like a baby. Kiba's lips curled into a small smile. He had known Naruto for years and sometimes he still couldn't fully understand him.

When they got to the car, a strange feeling encountered him. He looked around. Kiba felt as if they were being watched. He shrugged, Naruto was gently placed on the passenger-seat and the brunette closed the door.

Suddenly, Kiba felt being watched again and stilled. He abruptly turned around to find the culprit. A small breeze flew by that made Kiba's hair dance a little. It was dark at the parking place and a few lanterns weren't helping very much. There were only a few cars on the large open parking-place so that the place looked deserted. He heard a dog barking in the distance and strangely enough… that was all he heard.

_Could it be…?_ The brunette turned to look at the blond who was still sleeping soundless in the car. While he still looked around, his hand slowly reached to the back of his shirt and felt his fingertips brushing along the edge of his shirt. Something was letting the bushes move and Kiba's eyes went directly to it. His hand tightened his grip on the cold object. Kiba wouldn't have wished that he would use his _gun_ this fast. The sounds that the leaves made didn't stop so he slowly walked towards it. Eyes narrowed.

Suddenly something jumped out, Kiba tensed, and was about to pull out his gun when he noticed it was just a big black cat. He let out a sighed off relief and released his grip from the cold object. _I really need a vacation. _He thought. When the cat slowly came his way he stopped half way and suddenly hissed at him. Before the young man could even wonder why he suddenly felt very cold.

Then it happened.

He felt someone was breathing against the back of his neck. The black cat hissed again before it run away in great speed. The young man completely stilled and felt the thin hairs on his neck rise. Eyes widened in surprise, or was it…_fear_? Kiba was not a person who became afraid that easily but this feeling… it was just too, _cold_. His eyes travelled down and a tiny sound left his lips. There was a second shadow that was created by the lantern, which stood a few metres behind him…or _them_. Kiba… _Kiba_ was actually afraid to turn around to face the man. Kiba's eyes stayed on the cold floor. The shadow that wasn't him was taller than his own, but what really did confuse him is that the tall person didn't move. He just… stood there.

_Stay cool Kiba. Stay cool_. He told himself but it wasn't helping. He actually didn't know what to do anymore. His mind was completely blank. This happened so fast that he couldn't prepare a strategy. It wasn't cold outside but, somehow, the brunette felt like freezing when he felt the person breathing against his neck. He shivered.

Kiba gritted his teeth and gathered his courage. He moved his lips.

"What do _you_ want?" He said softly but firmly.

It was quiet after that and Kiba didn't like this at all, especially the feeling of being helpless. He never has been in this kind of situation but then he heard a low chuckle made his eyes go wider.

The unknown person's voice was low and cold, like the feeling Kiba had, and he shivered when he spoke. "_I think you know._" And in a quick flash the shadow on the floor was gone. A second later he heard a hard noise that came from behind. His breath hitched. _Naruto!_

He instantly turned around.

Naruto was still sleeping peacefully in his car but… he looked down, seeing a broken red bike in front of the car-door. It looked like it came from hell. Pieces were burnt, tires were cut and ripped apart and metal was bowed like it was plastic. It took a while before Kiba remembered the red bike. It was Naruto's, the one he left with at restaurant.

The brunette looked shocked, but it was about to get worse. There was a small burnt piece of paper sticking on the tire. It moved when the wind passed by. The young man gulped and slowly walked forward. The closer he got, the clearer it became, the message written on the piece of paper. He stopped when he could clearly read it.

**SOON**

Kiba's breathing stopped for a moment. It was written in _blood._ _But who's blood? _He stared at the piece of paper like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. A small sound that sounded like a groan woke him up. He looked at Naruto who was beginning to move in his sleep.

Kiba worked quickly after that, he hurried to open the back of the car and carefully picked up the ruined bike. It was hard evidence after all. He closed the back and looked around. Nobody was around. He actually doubted that it was a good sign. Kiba jumped into his bar and started it and almost stamped on the gas pedal. They needed to get the hell out of there.

Kiba had the feeling he could breathe normally now he was on the road again. Out of the corner of his eye, he detected that his friend was still sleeping deeply. Good. He reached for his cell phone and dialled a number. After a few seconds, someone picked it up.

"What is it now?" A woman said. You could hear the irritation in her voice.

"…"

"Kiba?" The person said now with a hint a concern in her voice.

"…Hana…" Kiba took a deep breath, "_he_ was… _so _close."

A gasp was heard through the phone. "Hold on! I'll put you on speaker."

"_Shhh!_ Naruto is sleeping next to me," the brunette hissed. "Don't raise your voice like that."

It was quiet for a moment before he heard his sister's voice again. "How close? Are you injured? How is Naruto? Where is the bastard now?" She said in a hurry.

Then Kiba heard another voice through the phone. It was low and stern. "_Hana slow down." _The brunette hated to hear his voice, especially since he was one of the sources of Naruto's depression. He clearly remembered that he had to kick _Fugaku's_ ass someday.

"Still not _dead_ yet Fugaku?" Kiba hissed.

There was a moment of silence that another person through the phone eventually broke. "Now is not the time Kiba."

_Minato._

"So I suppose everyone is there." It wasn't a question.

"That is right," his sister answered dryly.

Well of course they were, Kiba thought. That bastard was on free feet, there wasn't any other reason why they would come together. But Kiba still couldn't understand why Minato could act so freely around Fugaku. He was the whole reason that his son was so messed up right now! But then again they've been… sort of… working together since Naruto's mother died. Or rather…

"Kiba."

The brunette woke up when he heard Minato's voice that was full of worry. Kiba's eyes softened. This really must be a hard time for him.

"I'll tell you what happened…"

* * *

Kiba twitched in annoyance when he saw Naruto making all kinds of nervous movements in his car. The blond had been that way since they got into the car and now it was making Kiba nervous and lose his concentration while he was driving. Then he stopped abruptly and Naruto gasped in shock. Kiba clenched his jaw. He almost drove through a red light.

The brunette turned his head to look at the blond and saw that Naruto was about to yell at him but Kiba beat him.

"Will you just stop with shuffling around? It's goddamn annoying and it's breaking my concentration!"

Naruto slowly lowered himself into his seat while Kiba shouted at him.

Kiba saw Naruto's sad face and sighed. "You don't have to freak out, it's just school man… What harm will it do when your only one day later than normal."

"Yeah, it's just nearly four freaking hours," Naruto muttered softly.

The brunette rolled his eyes. Naruto could be just so…

"Anko," was the answer that Kiba got.

Kiba tensed immediately and Naruto saw it. A small, sinister smile appeared on the blonde's face. He knew Kiba forgot that they were having Anko this week because their other teacher had a small vacation. And Anko was just scary. Well… that's what they had been told.

Funny enough after that, Kiba drove faster and Naruto mentally laughed. So the great Kiba was afraid of someone after all.

When they arrived at school, they hurried to their classroom. Everyone was having class so the halls were deserted. They went up the stairs while they heard their own footsteps. Their blue blazers hung open since it was still hot outside and their white undershirts were also a few buttons open. Kiba had actually more than a few. Naruto saw that his friend reached the door first and opened it with a quick swing that made everyone in the classroom turn his or her heads towards them.

It was quiet for a moment when Kiba finally spoke.

"Sorry. I guess we're kinda late," he said with a grin, completely forgetting the fact that they were nearly four hours late. Naruto mentally slapped himself _and he thought he was the idiot._

A few girls in class began to giggle while a few young men laughed softly or snorted. Sasuke, who sat in the centre next to the window, fought the urge to roll his eyes at his statement. Then his eyes caught the blond student behind Kiba, who had a faint red colour on his cheeks and was slightly panting. Sasuke cocked his head a little. …_Looks rather-_ But his thought were interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Now look who's here?"

Kiba and Naruto turned to the woman who stood in front of the class. Anko. They both gained an uncomfortable feeling. The woman with dark eyes and dark hair, which she held in a high ponytail, looked at them with a smirk.

"Now that's funny." She said low and the boys raised an eyebrow. "You are both late at the same time, while you both live in different places." Her smirk widened. "Can this be coincidence?" She taunted. The two boys already knew what she meant.

"This could only mean one thing," the whole class listened to her words since nobody dared to say something. "I knew you were close but not… that _close_." She snickered when she saw Kiba with open mouth and a little surprised shock on his face. Naruto turned slightly red of embarrassment or it was still red from the running. He looked at the floor hoping that no one would notice. It failed of course.

This time he heard laughing that was a bit louder than before and girls were giggling again.

Then Kiba's lips turned into a small grin and this time Anko raised a thin eyebrow.

"Tsk. This little kid drank too much yesterday. If it wasn't for me he would probably end up under a car or maybe even worse." And there was actually some truth behind his last sentence. He heard Naruto scowl at him, but he ignored it. "And I don't know what _you_ read or watch in your spare time ma'am but I can guess, since your fantasy had clearly has have something to do with men that-"

"You can sit _now_." Anko growled.

Kiba tried not to laugh while he walked towards his seat, still hearing girls giggling at his words. Naruto sat also next to a window and on the other side sat Kiba. Almost in an instant, people who sat close to Kiba and Naruto began to whispering questions about what really happened. Naruto let Kiba do all the talking. He wasn't in the mood. His mind already drifted to somewhere else. Or more like _someone_ else.

Two seats behind him sat Sasuke whose eyes burned into the blonde's back and remained there for a long time. He already planned on talking to him today. He didn't know why but he was feeling rather nervous. But that was, of course, very stupid. Why the hell would he be nervous? He talked to him before right? So what's the big deal? A soft sigh left his lips and hoped that this day would be quickly over.

* * *

Naruto stretched his stiff limbs and lets out a small moan. The school day was already over, well that is what you get if you're four hours late. Kiba offered him help with cleaning the classroom, which Naruto still did every day after school, but Naruto said he could manage. His friend had nodded and said he would pick up his bike in the meantime. The blond smiled and mumbled his thanks.

Kiba have been gone for about seven minutes, when Sasuke made his appearance. Naruto didn't notice it though. Sasuke leaned against the doorframe of the room while he watched Naruto do his work. The dark haired boy still couldn't understand why he would always smile like that; he was cleaning the floors for god sake! What's the fun in that? Suddenly his smile disappeared and turned into a deep frown. Sasuke could see that there was something troubling his classmate.

So he decided to take action, and stepped forwards. Naruto noticed some movement in the corner of his eyes and turned his head, only to see dark onyx eyes watching him. _Sasuke?_

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said with a hint of confusing in his voice. Sasuke blinked a few times. Naruto never called him 'Sasuke' during school, it was always 'Teme or bastard', much to his dislike, and 'dobe' for Naruto. But when they were alone, and those occasions weren't often, they spoke to each other entirely differently.

"Hn."

An awkward silence came between them and the blond stopped cleaning. Naruto wasn't going say what was wrong or anything like that, because it was rather obvious that Sasuke would like to speak with him. That is… if he was finally going to talk.

"Naruto…" he started in a whisper that made Naruto look up, confused at his strange behaviour. "Do you know my brother?" The Uchiha said, not blinking once.

Immediately Naruto tensed and it didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. He slightly narrowed his eyes at him. _I knew there was something going on here._

"Tell me," the Uchiha demanded.

This time he blinked a few times when he heard the blond laughed hollowly. "I don't know your brother Sasuke, why would I? I never met him. Ha! Actually, never knew you had a brother. " The dark haired man wasn't fooled by such a fake laugh and looked at him with burning eyes. His blond classmate flinched when he saw his eyes darken. It reminded him of his brother.

Naruto gulped. Did Itachi tell him something? It would be bad if Sasuke found out about their stupid marriage. But why would Sasuke care anyway?

"I meet lots of people," Naruto lied. "So maybe he could be one of them… that I don't remember… and why would you care anyway?" Sasuke looked suspiciously at him and Naruto didn't like it one bit.

"He was… asking for information about you," he stated dryly but there was a glimpse of curiosity in his eyes.

Confusion and surprise could be analyzed in the blonde's blue eyes. "_He…_ was asking information about _me_…?"

"Hn."

Just hearing that one little word, if it even was a word, Naruto got annoyed. "God damn it, stop that! You sound just like him!" Naruto immediately regretted his words but it was too late anyway. Sasuke came closer with a serious look and Naruto could only stare at him.

He spoke softly since they were only inches apart, "Really now? That's funny isn't it? For someone who doesn't even know that he existed and still knew how he sounds like."

"…he he well you… I would guess that you-"

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes again. "Stop making excuses, it's pointless now." Naruto felt lost, what was he to do now? But before he could think of something, Sasuke spoke again. "Now tell me why he would seek information about you."

"M-maybe I'm just a…an… interesting person."

"_Naruto_," Sasuke wasn't a patient man, and he was growing tired of this. He wanted answers and he wanted them _now_.

"You're not leaving this school until I have a proper answer," the Uchiha said in a tone that was almost threatening.

Naruto began to sweat a little. What now? Would he tell him? It was obvious now that he knew his brother and that Sasuke could see through his lies. And if he still refused to talk, then Sasuke was going to find out anyway… he guessed.

_Could he trust him?_

Almost fifteen second had passed since the younger Uchiha spoke and Naruto was getting nervous. He just didn't want anyone to know this! The more people that knew, the more dangerous it became. After all, who will be excited to hear that the oldest son, who was known as a genius and an elegant man, of Uchiha was going to marry some guy because of a bet? It sounded just so stupid…

Twenty seconds.

Then Sasuke spoke. "Naruto… You can trust me." The blond looked surprised when he heard the soft and caring tone in his voice. "I don't know why my brother seeks information about you, but it's usually not a good sign."

His blond classmate blinked, "W-why not?" He almost stuttered.

The dark haired man closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he spoke again. "Because in the end, it will most likely end… well… not good." He was having trouble to say it.

"…I don't understand." Naruto said in confusion.

Sasuke clenched his jaw. "Just… stay away from him."

There was a short, pregnant pause. Naruto didn't understand why Sasuke would say all this, was Itachi dangerous or something? "W-well I guess I can't do that…" He said almost in a whisper.

The Uchiha immediately responded. "Why not?"

Naruto started to think. This was it. Was he really going to say it?

"_Naruto_, I already said that you could trust me and maybe I…" he hesitated for a moment. "…Can help you." He pressed his lips into a thin line and his eyes went to his chest, instead of staying focus on his eyes. It was almost like he was ashamed or nervous.

Poor Naruto didn't know how to respond to that. He just stared at the younger Uchiha who just offered _his_ help, and they even didn't talk much! Maybe the Uchiha's weren't all the same, Sasuke could be the living proof of that. He actually never knew Sasuke had a nice side, not that it was a bad thing, but Naruto instantly felt better now and for some reason he trusted him. Sasuke stared at him, not wanting to speak anymore until his classmate had answered first.

Naruto spoke quietly, "T-thank you Sasuke."

"Hn. Now tell me."

They looked to each other for a moment. Yes, he could trust him. So Naruto moved his lips and began to tell him how it all started. But before Naruto told him, he said that it would be a long story so maybe he could help him with cleaning the classroom, after all Sasuke offered him his help.

Sasuke frowned first when he heard it but quickly changed to a small smirk, and nodded. The Uchiha said nothing during Naruto's story; the only reaction Naruto could detect was when he sometimes narrowed his eyes or even looked surprised or shocked, especially when Naruto told him about his work. The blond didn't tell him everything though; some things were better left out.

When they were finished, Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He was also finished with his story. Naruto turned around and blue met onyx. Naruto stilled for a moment when he saw the serious look on his classmate's face, which looked almost like Itachi's.

"Naruto _don't_ go too that party."

"…Why not?"

"It doesn't smell right. My brother isn't the type of person who gives people a second chance." He was talking about the Itachi who gave Naruto a second chance to keep his job at the White Rose.

"But I have too! That bastard still has the other contract and-"

"Was that one already signed?" Sasuke interrupted him.

"Err…No, I have the one that has been fully signed. Why?"

Sasuke's eyes darkened, "Blackmail."

Naruto already knew that but still tensed when he heard Sasuke's cold tone. Itachi could still refuse to sign and that was also the main reason that was scaring Naruto.

"Naruto if you're going… you better be careful."

The blond didn't know why, but he smiled when he heard Sasuke's concerned voice. The younger Uchiha's eyes widened for a fraction, then there was an awkward silence again and Sasuke decided it was time to go. "I should leave. I'll… see you tomorrow then." He moved away.

When he was almost at the door, he turned around and looked at Naruto with an expression on his face that the blond didn't understand. "I have a performance on Friday." He reached for his pockets and grabbed a ticket, laying it on the table that was the closest to the door. "If you have time, you could…" He stopped when he saw Naruto smile again. Sasuke mumbled something that Naruto didn't hear. He didn't finish his sentence; just walking out with his hair covering his face.

The blond student blinked in confusing. _Uh? Did I do something wrong?_

He walked to the table and picked up the ticket. He smiled again and this time is was much brighter. _Sasuke you're a strange person..._ He was about to run after him to give him his thanks but bumped into someone. He looked up with half lidded eyes and saw Kiba looking curiously at him.

"Don't make it a habit."

"Uh?"

Kiba rolled his eyes, "Bumping into people, man." He snickered and Naruto mumbled his sorry.

"Oh! Do you have my bike?" Naruto almost cheered.

Kiba looked a little sad; he knew he had to lie to his friend. "Sorry Naruto I think someone _stole_ your bike."

* * *

**A/N**

Okay first of all: I'm really, really sorry that it took sooooo long! So an extra long chapter for you guys. Hope you liked it.

Second. The reason was because there were a lot of Trojans (or something) and worms on my computer :S That so sucked! My computer was ultra slow! And it actually still is! It's pissing me off!

I just don't understand why people make those worms and all that stuff… seriously don't they have a life or something? _Apparently not…_

And I know that it's all getting a little confusing now but you just wait

Sorry if there were any errors. Well next chapter more Itachi and Naruto. And the identity of the murder

See yah and thanks for reading! And reviews make me smile D


	9. Chapter 9 Everything will change

**Author:** M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing:** ItaNaru and NaruSasu, mainly ItaNaru  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating:** M  
**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**Beta:** Imperial Mint

_**A/N Okay before you start reading **_  
Yes I haven't update in a while, well more like years... I won't make excuses because I'm too lazy to make them up... You can hate me for it because I didn't even told my reader anything about my absence. So the truth is I just didn't feel like writing this story anymore. Just like that. Also when I read the story all over again I immediately thought: man it sucked! Really I just keep thinking: damn did I write this...? Maybe that was the main reason why I stopped writing, I wasn't satisfied.

Well anyway a few years later I read it again (and in the meantime many people contact me asking why I didn't finish the story) and I actually thought it was kind of funny. Weird actually, first it was trash and now it was funny/trash. So I thought oh what the hell why not. So here I am! Oh in case you haven't noticed I changed a few minor things in the other chapters. It's not that big I just added some text, removed some stupid words and changed some sentences so don't worry. And (this is not an excuse) I'm a very busy young woman so it's not like I will update every week or so and that's the truth! So here it finally is chapter nine. Hope you'll enjoy reading it!

* * *

_**Unexpected changes**_

**Chapter 9 – Everything will change**

**

* * *

**

While Kiba drove slowly towards Naruto's apartment, he glanced every once in a while to the sulking blond boy next to him with worried eyes. Naruto braced his elbow on the edge of the car window so he could lean his face on his hand. He looked tired, lost and also a bit mad. After Kiba told Naruto that his bike had been 'stolen' he had blinked a few times, and immediately after that his eyes had saddened. The brunette didn't like the sad look Naruto's eyes gave, but it wasn't like he could tell Naruto the truth.

His life was his danger. Yesterday was the proof of that. Kiba shivered at the thought of it. Just the thought of that murderer who was standing a few feet behind him... He was dangerous, really dangerous. He noticed that man was incredibly fast, and not to mention very tall if his memory wasn't failing him. Kiba shoved the thoughts away. He needed to focus now. He would protect Naruto at all cost, not only because it was his job, but because he was his best friend.

The brunette blinked. _How was he going to explain this all to Naruto?_

One day he had to hear the truth, hopefully when this was all over. How would Naruto react? Would he hate him for lying to him all these years?

Kiba remembered the day when his sister Hana called him to her. His sister worked at the police station. She was hard working, but often very moody... Kiba let out a tiring sigh. She had probably inherited it from their mother. It had been the day that Kiba learned all about the past of his young blond friend. It had shocked him. The young man had never excepted that Naruto had such a tragic past. He had also learned that Naruto knew nothing of it because at that time he was too young to handle it.

Minato, his father, decided that, even when he grew older, he would never tell Naruto what really happened to his mother. This man, Kushina's murderer, was called by the name of Kyuubi. Kiba had never received his real name. The man had a gruesome and terrifying past, even before the murder of Uzumaki Kushina, yet the details were not told to him, just the plain facts. Even when that cruel man was in prison, there was still no guarantee that Naruto would be safe. Kyuubi worked alone, but he also had a few followers. Minato was afraid that these people would hunt Naruto down for revenge so he had hired a few people to keep a watch on him.

At that time Kiba wondered why this had been told to him. Yes, he had a different perspective of his young friend now but-

For a second Kiba thought Hana had told him all this to warn him, that if he stayed too close to the young Uzumaki then he would be in danger too. In a split second Kiba wanted to yell at his sister. Just the thought of leaving his best friend alone made him furious, especially after hearing of his sad past. But before Kiba could open his mouth, his sister had patted him on the head with a sad smile on her face.

_"You are his best friend right? Will you help protect this young lad?"_

Kiba had been shocked again and Hana could only explain why she could this of him. The young female officer had told Kiba that this was Naruto's father idea. When Hana said to Kiba, _"I'll give you some time to think about it," _Kiba immediately shook his head in protest and said with burning eyes that he would do it. He was, after all, Naruto's best friend! And friends supported and helped each other! Minato and Hana had been, of course, very content with his answer.

Hana was only blaming herself why she didn't come up with this idea.

Minato quickly discovered that Naruto had made a friend named Kiba and knew that the boy was the little brother of Hana. Hana was also one of the police agents who had found Kushina's lifeless body. She was a great support at those hard times. The young woman even looked out for Naruto sometimes when he needed to go abroad. Kiba was very young back then, but he would soon grow into a good, young fellow. Just the way Minaro saw him play with Naruto was like he was an older brother.

He knew back then that Kiba would mostly become a good person, just like his sister and so he immediately contacted Hana. The idea of a protector who was also Naruto's best friend suited Minato well. Fortunately, Hana also thought that way, but she of course waited a few years until Kiba was old enough for this assignment.

The only thing that was left was training, but Kiba was a student, not a policeman. It would take years to make him a good policeman, or rather a protector. So Hana did the one thing that would go against the law. She began to illegally teach Kiba about how to use a gun and how to act or react in certain situations. She made him read certain books and made him practice at the shooting range. Kiba was actually a fast learner. He could be, someday, a very good officer, if not higher. His will was unstoppable and he barely became tired. Hana secretly wanted him to join the police force with her. The young woman just knew that he would be great and now he even had a head start.

Of course the most important thing was keeping his mouth shut. Naruto had to remain clueless about this whole thing.

Kiba stopped for a red light, not knowing that his hands had tightened around the wheel. Naruto was in grave danger, and to make it even better, those two childish idiots... The brunette almost growled thinking about Uchiha Fugaku and Uzumaki Minato. They just had to fuck it up even more! A few more drinks then usual and then this shit happens! Now they had a murderer on the loose and a frickin' marriage-contract-crisis. Kiba couldn't even find a decent word for it.

Yes, the murder was released after that ridiculous bet so the situation wasn't that bad as it is at the moment, but that wouldn't mean that Minato should act so freely about it at that time. He should have known better then to trust an Uchiha. Kiba almost just want to make sure Naruto's father would never touch alcohol again... But of course that was impossible, he barely saw the man. They communicated mostly by phone.

The light turned green and Kiba turned left. The young driver gritted his teeth between his lip. He should just call Minato and tell him to blow the whole marriage thing off! This was so immature! Minato should have known better indeed, for god's sake, he was an adult and a father!

Kiba began to tap his fingers repeatedly on the wheel. Yes, he would call him. He knew that his company was important for the both of their lives since Naruto did not have a full time job yet. Losing his job would mean that Naruto has to go to a different school, since their school was very expensive. They would probably lose their apartment after a while, which was very bad since Naruto lived now in a high security apartment, nice and high where there were a lot of camera's and an alarm system. It wasn't a coincidence that Minato had picked that apartment.

But he had also notice it in his wallet... Kiba once saw the monthly bills they had to pay. He had just stood there and gaped at the piece of paper. It was a lot- _hell _of a lot - of money!

Only like, big people live there. Kiba wrinkled his nose. The brunette remembered he was always being watched, as if he was a stray dog, by people who lived there. He hated that place- well he just actually disliked the people who lived there, except Naruto of course.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a driver behind him hooted. Kiba had stopped for a traffic-light again and didn't notice when it turned green. A small sound of frustration left his lips before he began to drive again.

Kiba looked in Naruto's direction again and frowned. He instantly thought that he was still upset that his bike was stolen. _What's the big deal? It's just a bike...? _Kiba almost wanted to say: _'It could have been your life.'_

"Shit like that happens all the time Naruto," he started. "You'll get a new bike."

Naruto grunted something he couldn't understand before he spoke softly, "But I liked that bike." He sighed. "Dad gave it to me." The blond waited a few second before he continued. "We picked that bike out together." He leaned back so that his head touched the car chair he stayed like that for a second before he turned his head towards the window, watching the sun go down slowly, creating an orange glow on the buildings. "One of the few things we did together..."

Kiba watched him. Of course it wasn't about the bike... That stupid bike just symbolised something.

Kiba decided to change the topic. This wasn't making Naruto happier. And... Kiba didn't actually didn't want to get any further in this father and son thing.

Kiba cleared his dry throat. "Since when does Sasuke clean the classroom?"

That question made Naruto react. He slowly turned his head towards Kiba and raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't."

The brunette turns left again. "Oh really?" he said with a bit of surprise in his voice. "It's just that I saw him leaving the classroom today and it was way past school time. Everyone was already gone, so I thought he would be cleaning with you."

Naruto hesitated to answer and Kiba, of course, noticed that. "Did something happen?" he asked sharply.

This time Naruto answered immediately. "No, no!" He waved his hand in dismay. "He just came to me to ask something that's all."

Kiba frowned at him. In return, Naruto looked back at him with a question in his eyes. "And he needed to tell you while you were alone?" Kiba thought about it. "So he actually waited after school until everyone was gone?" It was almost like Kiba was talking to himself. _Why the hell would he wait that long?_

It probably just struck Naruto because he blinked in surprise. The blond never thought that far but yes, he probably waited for like three hours before he showed up.

Even after school some students would hang out in the classroom for some time. Talking and joking or even waiting for other students. Sometimes they were there for a few hours. Naruto even joined them once in a while and after that he still had some cleaning to do. So Sasuke really did wait that long just to ask about his brother...? Naruto had to admit, that was weird. He just could have asked him if he wanted a private conversation.

Naruto then remembered the ticket he gave him. Pale hands automatically reached for his pocket, while Kiba's eyes followed them curiously. When Naruto found what he was looking for he pulled it out and looked at the light purple ticket.

"What is that?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A ticket." The blond turned the piece of paper and looked at the backside. "Sasuke gave it to me."

"Sasuke...? So he came to you to give you this?" It was a weird thing to Kiba. Didn't they dislike each other? "Does he spontaneously want to be your friend right now?" he mocked.

Naruto thought about what happened a while ago. He had seen a flicker of worry in Sasuke's eyes. It never occurred to him that Sasuke could look so different at some times. Naruto felt as if he could trust him, so he had told him his story. It was so weird... They had never spoken much and they were always competing against each other, they both called one another names, but just for a split second, that moment, he had really felt that he could trust the young, dark-haired man. Right after that, he even gave him a ticket for his performance on Friday... So were they friends now? No it was too early to call him a friend.

Just that after he told Sasuke everything, Naruto felt almost that there was another flow between them. He just couldn't name it.

"I don't know," Naruto said eventually. "But I think Sasuke isn't as bad as he seems. He was actually quite nice today."

Kiba actually looked shocked. "An Uchiha? _Nice?_" Naruto blinked at him while Kiba sighed. "That's like saying Shikamaru is the stupidest person on earth..."

The blond laughed softly at that. Kiba tucked his lips into a small smile. He was glad to hear his friend laugh again, even when it was not loud. "Well I'm not lying. He was even a bit worried."

Kiba was confused. Worried? "Why would he be worried?"

Naruto bit his lip. "Well he asked me if I knew his brother because it seems that _that _guy," Naruto did not want to say his name, he would probably become angry again. "Was gathering information about me and he wanted to know why."

"...Let me guess, you told him the whole thing right?"

Naruto's eyes widened and looked at his friend. "How did you know?"

Kiba shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "Wasn't it obvious already? If you put the pieces together..."

Naruto looked him with those big confusing eyes. Kiba cleared his throat. "Yeah well, never mind that..." He quickly changed the topic. "So where is the ticket for?"

"Oh, he has a solo performance on Friday at the Rising Star."

"Oh yeah, I remembered he plays the electric guitar right?"

Naruto nodded. "He does. I remembered he played a piece for school." The blond thought back at that moment. "It was... really beautiful actually."

"You don't say," Kiba mumbled quietly. "I guess I missed that."

Naruto huffed. "Yes, because you weren't at school that day you moron," he said with a smile on his face.

The older boy grinned at him. "Hey hey, no calling names okay? I was probably busy that night before."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah right, busy getting drunk you mean."

The brunette sniffed uncomfortably. "Wow, this is really a nice sunset," Kiba said weakly.

The blond laughed again at his failed attempt to change the subject. He was so lucky to have Kiba as a friend. What would he do without him?

Kiba just smiled while looking out the window. "So, are you going?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going to his performance?"

Naruto thought about for a moment. "Sure, I think so. I mean he really does play well." He actually really wanted to hear him play again. Maybe a day out would help him forget all those things that happened at the White Rose.

Kiba almost forgot the situation they were in now. There was still a killer on the loose. His eyes looked alarmed. "Shall I come with you?" Kiba offered. "You say the idiot plays so well right? Well I'm curious if that's true."

To his surprise Naruto jumped in to defend Sasuke. "Yes, he really does." The blond totally ignored the surprised expression Kiba was showing. "And sure you can come! You don't need to ask that. Why wouldn't I want you to come with me? You're my best friend!"

When Naruto looked at him with those big doe eyes, meaning every word one hundred and twenty percent, he smiled heartily at him. _Thank god_, Kiba thought. "Alright, I'll just have to buy a ticket." He really hoped that they weren't sold out or something. It was crazy to let him go alone now... oh right. His dad wasn't going to like this, but locking Naruto up would be very suspicious and Naruto wasn't stupid. It's just that Minato didn't want his son to know what really happened to his mother. He could understand his concern of course. He couldn't imagine how Naruto would react on that since Naruto was a very sensitive person in his eyes.

They drove for another five minutes in silence until they finally arrived at Naruto's apartment. After parking Kiba's car they took the elevator until it reached the 26th floor. They talked about minor stuff on the way up. Once they stood before Naruto's door, the blond searched his pockets for his key, meanwhile Kiba looked around him and sniffed the air. He huffed. Even the air smelt _expensive_... God he hated this place. It was too fancy and so unlike Naruto.

When Naruto finally found his keys they entered the apartment and Kiba immediately took his place on the soft couch. Damn, he needed to get one of those. Naruto politely asked him if he'd like something to drink while throwing his keys on the table. Kiba gladly nodded and asked for a coke. It took the blond a moment until he came back with his soda. The brunette thanked him with a smile.

Naruto yawned while seating himself next to Kiba. "Damn, it has been a long day," he said slowly. Kiba looked at him. If he knew any better he would say that his friend said those words with a nervous edge to them. There was clearly something bothering him. Kiba pondered whether he should ask him or not.

He didn't have to. Naruto's head slowly turned to his friend, thin lips began to move. "Hey Kiba, about Wednesday evening..."

* * *

Uzumaki Minato repeatedly knocked his head on his office desk. This was such a mess... It was like the world was going to end. That was the feeling he had now. It had been days since he saw his own son and the last time he spoke to him was on the phone. He felt guilty, miserable, extremely worried and above all he felt he had failed as a father. If Kushina were alive she would definitely have strangled him.

Just thinking about her made him feel so lonely. If she were here, everything would be okay. Everything would be different. But it was not. Kushina was no more...

Everything that could have possibly go wrong had. And if it wasn't for Minato to say, he would blame Uchiha Fugaku for this mess. This was his entire fault! That stupid man with his stupid pride! Fugaku knew damn well that he couldn't quit his job! He would lose their apartment and that apartment was Naruto's safe-keep! If his son was there Minato felt that he was safe. The security was high and reliable. Of course if they would lose their home and knowing that the Uzumaki family was in danger, Fugaku had the manpower to send them somewhere safe since he used to work with the police, and even now he had strong connection with them. Minato didn't know exactly how, but sometimes he still worked there. Also his eldest son was now working at the police force.

Yes Uchiha Fugaku was, most of the time, an asshole but they still went to the same school and even when they couldn't get along with each other, the respected each other. They even met both of their wives at the same school. They sometimes fought with each other, but helped one another when one of them was in trouble. It was a odd relationship, maybe the kind of relationship Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had now. Back in the old days, Fugaku entered the police force after he'd graduate. He barely saw him when he moved to the city. It hadn't taken long before his first son had been born.

Minato was, surprisly enough, very good with numbers and was even offered different kind of jobs. All in all, years went by and everything went well. Soon Uchiha's second son was born at almost the same time Naruto came to greet the world. Those were the happiest, but also the scariest, days of his entire life. His life changed in just a few minutes.

He became a father.

Minato could remember it as if it had happened yesterday. Kushina was so tired after the delivery, but she was glowing with pride and so much happiness. This was their son. They had faced many great times with each other.

At that time they had lived far away from the city, where you actually could hear the birds sing and the leaves move with the wind. You could really breathe out there. There was a lot of space in their old home, from the inside and the outside. When you compare that place with this city... The city was actually too packed for his tastes, but after some time he had become used to it.

Somehow the blond man thought back to the day that Naruto took his first steps outside. Minato tucked his lips into a small smile. He had squatted down and gotten on his knees, holding little Naruto while Kushina stood a few steps before him on her own knees, waving at Naruto, beckoning him to come to her with a beautiful smile on her face, the smile that made him fall in love with her.

Naruto had been a very curious fellow and curious to learn. After a few steps towards his mother Naruto had fallen down, but to Minato's surprise, he hadn't cried. He had just stood back up and tried again until he reached his mother's warm arms. Kushina had hugged her son with so much pride that Minato could only sat there and watched them with a big smile on his face. Maybe he had been even a little jealous on his wife. Their mother and son bond had seemed so strong.

He missed those times. He longed for those times to come back.

Even after they had moved to the city, they went to their hometown once in awhile. When Naruto was almost four years old, the Uzumaki family decided to celebrate their vacation in their own hometown. They had had a lot of fun and had enjoyed the fresh air. They went to visit old friends, went out to picnic and played with Naruto in a park that was very near their old home.

But one day when Kushina went out to get some groceries... she never came back. So Minato had contacted the local police. The search for his wife took too long for the blond adult to wait for. Minato desperately wanted to look for her himself. It took many of his old friends who lived there to restrain him. Then _everything _changed.

The murder of his wife had shocked all the people in his hometown. They just couldn't believe that a murderer had taken place at their doorstep. Kushina was known as the strong but loving and caring mother. People loved her just because she was always thinking positively, even at hard times. Her smile dazzled many people as well as Minato. Why? Why? _Why her?_ No one understood that there had been a crime that had taken place at their _once _peaceful and beautiful hometown.

It all happened when Uzumaki Kushina went missing all of sudden. After the local police hadn't found anything and after his own failed attempt to look for her, Minato desperately called for Fugaku to help him, or more like begged him to help. Since Kushina had also been friends with Fugaku's wife, he offered him his help. Minato had hoped with all his heart that his wife just had gotten lost, or maybe had some kind of small accident, nothing serious. It had to be! _She couldn't...she couldn't-_

It was a sad day for the young man because his worst nightmare just came true. It took Fugaku thirty-eight days to find Kushina's soulless body in the forest nearby to where they had been staying. _Just a few miles from their staying place!_ Just the thought of imagining _his _wife calling for his help and he _couldn't have helped! He couldn't! Because he couldn't hear her_! Even when it had happened so nearby! At that moment Minato had wanted to die. He had hated himself. He had just thought every second of that day, _'this is all my fault'._

Minato shivered when he though back to when he had needed to go to the police office to indentify his wife. He could clearly remember the moment when one of the police officers walked to the body, lying on the table with a white cloth around it, and carefully and slowly placed the cloth aside, only to reveal his beloved wife's head. Even when it had looked like she was lying there peacefully, it seemed s if Minato's heart had stopped. The officer made no attempt to reveal the whole body, the face Minato gave him had said enough. When the officer had placed the cloth where it belonged, Fugaku tried to speak to his old friend.

But Minato didn't hear anything of it. The voices had slowly faded around him away until he had only heard Kushina voice. The memories seemed to flash before his eyes.

_The blond man cleared his throat. A few girls in the classroom already began to giggle. "Hello I'm Minato," he said shyly._

_The red haired female laughed with a blush on her cheeks. "Nice to meet you," she said with her warm smile. "I'm Uzumaki Kushina, but you can call me Kushina."_

Fugaku had made another attempt to get a reaction of him. Before he knew it, his mind had made him see another precious memory.

_"You know," Minato started, obviously nervous. "I have these two tickets for this movie and I was wondering- well if you have the time... maybe uhm- " he said while scratching his head._

_Before he could ramble on any further Kushina had poked him on his nose and laughed. "It's about time you asked!" she winked playfully at him._

_Minato could only blush and look away. "Yes well uhm-" Again he was interrupted, but this time it had been because a pair of warm lips slightly pressed against his cheek. Minato had blinked in surprise while Kushina had only laughed at the face he was making._

Fugaku grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to shake him out of his thought. But Minato still did not react. The Uchiha asked the police woman named Hana to help him.

_"So what do you think of this one?" The red haired woman asked with full enthusiasm to her husband. She showed him the back and the front side of the little baby t-shirt. "It's cute isn't it?"_

_Minato on the other hand slightly frowned at his wife. "Well there's nothing wrong with the frogs, but what if it's going to be a girl?" Minato said while taking the t-shirt himself to inspect it. "Wouldn't ponies or bunnies be better?"_

_Kushina let out a small laugh and sighed softly while placing her hand on her growing tummy. It had been four mouths and he was growing well. The young woman carefully caresseed her belly. "No, it will definitely be a boy," she said with a smile._

_Minato looked up from the t-shirt to Kushina. "How do you know?"_

_"I just know," she said sweetly. Minato, on the other hand, could only look confused, causing Kushina to laugh. "Come on daddy, let's buy this. I know little Naruto would love it." She looked at him with pleading eyes._

_"Naruto?"_

_Kushina took the baby shirt slowly from him. "Yes. His name."_

_Minato thought for a second before he answered. "I kind of like it."_

_"Of course you do sweetheart." She instantly turned around to walk towards the pay desk._

_Minato grinned, "But hey, if it's still going to be a girl you have to tell to her why you have named her Naruto and explain to her why your motherly instinct probably failed you."_

_Kushina laughed. "Don't worry, I don't need to."_

Her warm smile remained for a second before her face slowly faded away...

At that moment the world collapsed around Uzumaki Minato.

The blond man slowly stopped banging his head on the table and groaned in frustration. This wasn't helping, now he had a headache... _great_.

When he heard a dripping sound beneath him he looked down. It just struck him. _He was crying..._

Shocked, he immediately wiped his cheeks dry with one swift move of his hand. For god's sake, he was adult!

He sighed, placed his elbows on the table and leant his head on his hands. He rubbed his eyes with his palms. The man was tired or more like exhausted. There was too much going on at the moment and he fiercely wished his mind would go blank for a second.

Could it been anymore worse?

Minato almost jumped when he heard his phone ring.

* * *

Itachi typed in the name 'Uzumaki Kushina' and pressed enter. His laptop, which was connected to the police network, was searching all the data about Uzumaki Naruto's mother. It would take a while, and in the meantime, the young Uchiha grabbed his coffee and looked through other papers that lay on his desk.

When his computers signalled that his search was complete, Itachi turned his head to the screen and found Kushina's photo on the left side of the screen with her birth date, birth town etcetera. His eyes automatically looked at the young female on the screen. The young man had to admit that Naruto had a beautiful mother. He could now see where Naruto got those mesmerizing eyes. Even thought her face held a serious expression she had such a soft radiation around her. Itachi thought that she probably was a kind mother.

He vaguely remember that the young blond at the White Rose was easily angered if someone said something unpleasant about his mother's bracelet. Itachi tucked his lips into a small smirk. He really was a little mother's boy.

When he looked at her personal data, he blinked and slightly frowned. Was his eyesight going bad? He looked again and, yes, there was no mistake, Uzumaki Kushina died years ago. He didn't expect to find this. It irked him when he read under the line 'cause of death'; murder.

Itachi just stared at the screen for a moment.

Next to the victim's photo and her personal data, he saw a few maps. He selected the media-map first. In an instant, almost thirty screens popped up in front of his eyes. This map contained files such as video and newspaper articles that were broadcast that time. The man opened the first newspaper file with the head-title: _Murder at Leafdale. _The newspaper had also a picture in it. The picture showed police officers setting of the premonitory. He picked another newspaper with the title: _Body Found in an Underground Basement. _There was another photo of the location where the murder had taken place. It seemed like a simple gray-looking cube with only one door in it, somewhere in the forest of Leafdale. Itachi clicked another one: _'Missing Woman Found' _with a smaller line under it _'The Cause of Death Most Likely Murder, Police Won't say Anything yet of the Matter'. _Another one: '_ Leafdale in Shock, Murder at their Peaceful Hometown_.' The list went on and on. Itachi had seen enough of those. He wanted to go deeper. He clicked the newspaper map away.

Next thing the young man saw was a map with the codename 'case 3007'. "A case three..." He mumbled softly. He clicked on it.

As expected a little screen popped up saying 'enter password'. There was a system for this. If you want to open a case file, you first had to look at the first number of the case name, which in this case was three. The number three means is was a heavy case. It could only be opened by a few people who had authority to open it. These were people with a higher rank and these people only knew the password to it. Simple police officers could not open those maps without permission to do so.

Luckily for Itachi, he had to authority to open it. When he typed the letters and clicked on enter something happened he didn't entirely expect. Big red letters appeared with, 'ACCESS DENIED'.

The young Uchiha could only stare at the screen. He tried again. Maybe he made a typing error? When his finger pushed on the enter button again, those big, alarming letters appeared again.

Itachi actually looked dumfounded. He leaned back on his chair, his fingers tapping restlessly on the table. _Was this really happening? _Itachi thought while reaching for his coffee again. This had never happened to him before. Why didn't he have access to the files? Was there something wrong with the system? A bug maybe? This irritated him on many levels.

He was about to pick his phone to make urgent and a very irritated phone-call to the police station, when his eyes spotted the possible date of murder. _That date..._ His mind instantly linked to his father. At that time his father was still part of the police force. He had quit the force years later, to start his own business. He could remember that once, during diner, he had said some things that Minato was mentioned in. He could vaguely remember that they did know each other for quite some time, if he recalled, since the day they met at school. He even said something about that he even had a case that involved Uzumaki Minato. Back then, he just thought he meant something minor. Could it be?

Was there a connection between them?

He needed to find out. Itachi grabbed his cell-phone and dialled the number of his father's cell-phone. While the phone connected, his mind wandered off to something else or rather to someone else. Did Uzumaki Naruto know about this? Did the boy know his mother was murdered? The boy had been three years - almost four years - old at that time so after he was old enough, did his father tell him about it? Why was his mother murdered? And, most importantly, why couldn't he get into the files? He had so many questions and the fact that the answers lay right before him in that stupid file, which he could not open. The answered were in hand's reach and he couldn't get them. There was something not right about this.

It just occurred to him that he had been waiting for at least thirty seconds now and his old man had not picked up yet. After a few counts, his father's voicemail came instead. Itachi grunted and instantly flipped his phone out. That bastard almost never answered his phone, especially when he knew it was his sons were the ones calling.

_Fine._

He just had to be patient for the time being.

Itachi closed his laptop and stood up, making his office chair groan in protest and walked slowly to the window, watching the orange glow that coloured the sky. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said, so softly that it almost sounded like a whisper. "It seems that you, as your parents, have a mysterious past." And Uchiha Itachi was anxious to know what it was. For some reason he couldn't wait until it was Wednesday night.

* * *

"Yes I already know." Kiba answered plainly.

Naruto looked surprised. "Uh?" The blond was confused. "How did you know?"

Kiba sighed. His blond friend nervously told Kiba about what was coming up next Wednesday. The thing was, Naruto didn't know that he told him already, or rather that he'd forgotten. "You already told me, but it seems you forgot it-"

"Bu-"

"You were drunk idiot," Kiba said while he gave him a playful punch on his upper arm.

Naruto lips formed into a little 'o'. "Uhm, you know if dad would fi-"

"Ugh I won't tell him Naruto, I hardly even see him, let alone talk to the guy." That was a lie of course.

The blond sighed in relief. "Thank god, last time it happened, my dad was so furious that he grounded me for three months..."

Kiba shrugged. "He's just worried about you. That's all."

Naruto pounded. "Well it's driving me nuts... He even flips when I don't pick up a phone." The boy tsk'd. "He immediately thinks that I'm lying somewhere, dead in some kind of alley."

When the blond said that Kiba felt a shiver though his spine. Just the thought of it was making him unwell.

"You know about Wednesday," the dog lover said hasty, trying to change the subject "you do have choice you know. It's not like he's your real boss." Naruto looked down, playing with his mother's bracelet. "Just call Shisui and explain to him what happened."

Naruto sighed. "Well the thing is, I overheard him talking through the phone with Shisui... So I think Shisui already knows of the situation."

The brunette hm'd and leaned back. "I never thought that Shisui would agree to that."

Naruto looked at him. "Uh?"

"Well you said once that you and Shisui had a good working relationship right?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes we do. He never gets angry that quickly and he's always nice and polite with the staff crew. Even when customers are very mean to him sometimes Shisui understands that it's not my fault." Naruto shrugged. "Annoying people like that just exist. You can't do anything about it."

Kiba cleared his throat. "Well what I've been meaning to say is, doesn't it strike you as odd that Shisui would actually let you do that kind of thing since he already knew that you were on bad terms with that old bag at the restaurant? It almost sounds he's punishing you right? You have to make it up by proving yourself at that party or something." He scratched his nose. "He never blamed you if anything went wrong because he knows that you are an honest worker."

Naruto thought about that. It was true that it wasn't in Shisui's nature to punish someone... Or maybe he had just been mistaken about him? The blond groaned. He didn't care at the moment, he was tired and he wished this contract-thing was indeed a bad joke... He wished that when he woke up from his sleep this was all a bad dream. Naruto rubbed his eyes with his hands. He was tired, mentally and physically.

Kiba patted him on the shoulder. "I think you'll need your rest now. You had a tough weekend behind you. "

Naruto nodded slowly. "Yeah." He placed one hand on his forehead. "Damn, just a few days ago everything was just fine the way it was."

Kiba looked at him with sympathy in his eyes. He then remembered he needed to call his father. This just couldn't go on. Uchiha Fugaku just needed to grow up when it came to his hideous and childish games. Just look at what it did to Naruto...

Naruto slowly got up and stretched his back. "You know you can sleep here if you want."

Kiba smiled. "Sure, after all I love this couch," Kiba said, kicking his shoes off.

Naruto smiled back. "Yeah I know you do." The younger boy yawned. "There's food in the fridge if you are hungry," the blond said while walking to his bedroom.

The brunette tried to find a nice sleeping position. "Yeah yeah I know." This wasn't the first time Kiba had stayed over.

"Oh and Kiba?"

The brunette turned his head to his friend. "Yes?"

Naruto bit on his lip. "Could you tell no one about Wednesday? If my dad were to fi-"

Kiba grunted softly. Honestly didn't he trust him anymore? "You know I won't Naruto."

Naruto smiled weakly at him and muttered his thanks before he turned around and walked away.

* * *

Before Naruto closed the door behind him, he looked back for a second. He didn't know why, but he suddenly didn't feel comfortable when he was alone anymore, even when it was in his own room. It was actually unfair to use his friend to make him feel a little bit more... safe.

The blond blinked. Safe? He didn't know why he thought that. It sounded very stupid since this building was more than safe.

Then why did he feel this way? Somehow he thought back at the day when he was getting his bike down at the garage. The day he had to go to the White Rose. He shivered; he really hated that dark place.

He really felt as if someone was watching him from the shadows... First he had thought he was imagining it. So he just dropped it. But when the weekend was over he had felt that cold feeling again and, during that time, he was at school. After school, when he and Kiba were about to get in the car, he had felt it again. It seemed that all the little hair on his body rose. He had automatically rubbed his arms, like he was cold. And when he had looked around, all he had seen was a few school kids and the traffic moving.

Naruto hadn't told Kiba of course. He probably would just have laughed at him and told him he was being paranoid. Maybe he was.

Naruto shoved his hand through his hair and closed the door. He really needed some sleep

* * *

When Kiba heard that his friend closed the door he waited for another hour before he got up and walked to the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

He reached for his pocket and grabbed his cell phone and dialled a number while he took a seat on the edge of the kitchen table. The brunette waited impatiently until it got picked up. He looked outside the kitchen window. It was beginning to get dark, yet he wasn't tired at all. Unlike Naruto who, if he had so much on his mind like today, would get exhausted, Kiba just couldn't sleep because of it.

"Hello?"

Kiba noticed that Minato's voice also sounded exhausted. "It is me," he answered shortly.

Kiba only called him when there was something wrong so Minato was naturally alarmed. "Is there something wrong? How is Naruto?"

How is Naruto doing? Kiba curled his hand into a tight fist. How is Naruto doing? He would tell him how he's been holding up alright. "He's exhausted physically and mentally, especially the last one. He was mostly sad all of the day, he didn't speak much today and he hasn't eaten I believe." Kiba actually wanted to ramble on about it but decided to go against it.

Minato probably already felt enough guilt when he mentioned physically and mentally.

It was quiet for a while. Kiba even gave the man time to let it sink in. He most likely already expected those things, but hearing that it also happened was a stab in his heart. Kiba pitied him for a second. The man already had such a tragic past by losing his wife. Slowly, Minato felt he was losing Naruto. Yes Naruto was always glad when he had the chance to talk to his dad by phone, but Naruto hardly even saw his own father and Kiba knew that their father-son relationship had slowly faded until there was nothing left. Minato feared this so he tried to call Naruto every day.

There was just one problem. "Kiba, is Naruto's cell phone broke?"

Kiba looked dumfounded. What the hell? The brunette expected a whole other reaction. "Not that I know of, why?"

"I tried to call him after school like I always do, but I only got a weird beeping sound."

"Sounds like he just turned off his phone," Kiba said shortly.

Again there was an awkward silence and Kiba knew why. He knew that Minato always called his son after school, but now knowing that he turned it off could only mean one thing.

He was avoiding him.

This was getting worse. Especially now Minato wanted to be close to him more the ever and right now he was avoiding his old man. That had to sting. He heard a heavy sigh.

"You know," Kiba started slowly. "This is already getting hard for you and Naruto," the brunette said while he stood up from the kitchen table, only to sit again, but now in on a real chair. He took a deep breath. "You have to stop this nonsense. You will only be making this not only harder for Naruto, but also for yourself."

He couldn't believe he was lecturing Naruto's father, but he just really needed to say this to get it off of his chest. "You know as well as I do that this isn't good for Naruto. His behaviour today was proof of it and I'm afraid it will only get worse if this goes wrong." Kiba stopped and ran his hand through his hair. When Naruto's dad didn't say anything, he continued.

"Look, I know Fugaku is a total ass when it comes to his stupid pride and not to forget those games, but what I understood from my sister is that you two were friends right?" He stopped again waiting for an answer. When the answer didn't come, he just continued again. "Call him. Explain to him this isn't right. I know he isn't a stupid man, he was once part of the police, having a high rank and even started his own company." Kiba's voice began to rise a little.

"He's already proven that he's got brains! But he's just a childish man when it comes to games! He of all should understand that this isn't the time for playing games!" Kiba was actually panting by now. He blinked. He actually almost shouted that out. Darn it. Lucky for him, he knew Naruto wasn't easy to wake up.

The brunette was silent now. He waited patiently for an answer but after ten seconds he was beginning to think that Minato might already have hung up. He was about to say 'hello?' when he heard the man sigh.

"You really are a good lad Kiba."

Kiba just stood there in the kitchen looking bewildered. Had he said something odd? For a moment the young man really didn't know what to say.

Meanwhile, Minato spoke again in a gentle tone. "Thank you."

Kiba on the other hand was still silent.

"You have been such a good friend to my son. He thinks of you as a brother. You know that right? And you would probably know more about him then I do..." He almost sounded jealous. "Oh god... I really failed as a father didn't I?"

Dumfounded by the older man words, Kiba massaged his temples. How the hell could he answer to that? It was not in his place to judge him. Though he really did think he and Fugaku were the blame for this mess.

"That bet was indeed the stupidest thing thought up by Fugaku but I was so foolish to get dragged into it." After that he told him slowly what happened during their company trip. Kiba quietly listened to him. He told him about the many drinks and Fugaku's challenge.

"The thing is Kiba..." He heard the man sigh heavily. "Did you know that relatives of the police force gain extra protection of the police itself? And I'm talking about the people who have a high rank in the police force. They gain extra protection because there always will be a chance that they would be easy targets by society. "

Kiba just was confused by this. He shifted slightly on his seat. Why the hell is he saying this to him?

"I vaguely recall that my sister mentioned it at some point," Kiba said eventually.

"Fugaku just called me." The brunette mentally groaned. God he hated that man. "And you know what he said?" Minato replied.

Minato frowned as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"_It is me_," said the person with a low voice.

Well this was unexpected. "Fugaku?"

"Listen, I don't have that much time so I will make it quick, I've been thinking..." he said with an uncertain voice. "This bet, this... marriage thing and now... _Kyuubi_." He said the name in disgust. Minato just wondered where he was going to. God he hoped he doesn't have another of his stupid ideas.

_"I thought about it and you know... this marriage doesn't have to be that bad."_

Minato looked shocked and mad at the same time. "Do you even realize what you're saying!" the blond adult hissed. "Do you any idea how my son feels right now? And don't you care about your own son?"

He heard Fugaku grunted something. "Look, this might sound a little odd," he admitted, "But this could be a good thing for you to increase your son's safety. This bet could well be in your advantage," he explained seriously.

Minato looked bewildered. Did he just hear that correctly? "Excuse me?"

"Me and my eldest son have a high rank, as you know. People like us will receive a special contribution of the police itself, since our job depends on so many other cases. It's sort of a safety system you could say." He stopped for a second.

"Kyuubi is on the loose, Minato. The second he left jail you and your son were, and still are, in danger, especially since we lost sight of that bastard," he said, rather irritated. He didn't like any failures, especially if the mistake was made by himself. He was responsible for losing the suspect.

The Uchiha cleared his throat. "So what I'm meaning to say-" he paused. "If this _marriage _really would proceed, we can guarantee your son's safety."

Minato looked at his desk. We...? Did he mean...? he thought.

"My son is well trained and could easily..." _Could it be...? _That Fugaku actually felt sorry for him and his son? Did he feel _guilty_? Minato could almost not believe it. It was almost that Fugaku was admitting his little games were indeed stupid ... at this moment. Or he just didn't want to fully admit it by saying that this bet had some benefits.

Minato could only gape while he listed to the Uchiha. " Take him under his roof. I know your apartment is for Naruto's safety as well, I even helped you search for a safe place for your kid remember?" Yes Minato did.

After the murder of his wife, Minato didn't felt safe anymore in his own home. So he decided to move and his old school friend had helped him with that. Or maybe more like his wife forced him to help him... When he finally found a reliable apartment he almost had a heart attack when he saw the legal charges. He didn't have the salary at that time and even had to loan from the Uchiha. It was really fortunate that he was quickly promoted to a higher rank at SakuQ. Before he knew it, he already paid Fugaku back and he finally could give Naruto a fine safe-keep and a good school. But in exchange, he barely saw his son, only at the weekends. The higher the rank, the more work you gained. The price was high, but it was for Naruto's safety.

"My son's apartment is located just a few second's walk from the police station in a matter of speech. And he also life in a high security apartment just like yours."

"Your son would even do that?" Minato ask in disbelief.

"Yes," the man said with confidence. "If he knew about the situation your son is in right now Itachi would co-operate easily. He would see this as a _case_ instead of a ...company _marriage_."

_Don't you mean instead of a stupid game of yours?_ Minato thought. He also noticed Fugaku was feeling a little uncomfortable when the word marriage was mentioned. Then again, his marriage didn't end that well. "But we could just use the marriage... thing so your son can access our safety system."

Wow, just wow... The blond adult just couldn't find words.

"Wow Fugaku I-...I really don't know what to say..." The blond scratched the back of his head feeling rather uncomfortable.

Fugaku grunted. "Urgh, yeah well- don't think too much of it. It's not like I feel guilty or something," he added quickly. "I'm just thinking as a reasonable cop right now. So even how important the Uchiha motto is-" Minato almost wanted to laugh. Oh god this man was sometimes like an open book! "A person's safety comes first." There he'd said it. Finally.

Minato just couldn't hold it in anymore. He laughed softly. The man on the other side of the phone raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, sorry," the blond said hastily. "It just that-"

"What?" He sounded annoyed, probably because Minato laughed for some reason.

"Thank you."

Yes this was getting awkward.

"Yes well-" He cleared his throat. "This just had to be done. Since that bastard is on free feet, it is necessary to change the situation. It will only be a matter of time until he will find out where you live." Unless he already knows, Minato thought silently. "There you have it. Now he has Hana's brother as protector during school and after that my son will take the rest of the day. It almost sounds like we are talking about some celebrity..." Minato could easily hear the sarcasm in that last sentence.

Minato wanted to sigh. Damn that man. He just wouldn't show to the world that he could be a nice guy for a change. Still we are talking about Uchiha Fugaku here... The man with, most likely, the biggest pride in the city.

Kiba was right. Adults could be so childish.

The Uchiha continued. "I will call my son tomorrow and explain the situation."

Minato thought about it for a minute. Would this indeed be, good for Naruto? Before Fugaku called he was actually thinking about blowing the whole thing, off. Fine he would quit his job, he would just move far, far away, far from his. Then his old school friend called. It almost seemed fated.

"I really appreciate what you're willing to help me and more importantly Naruto, but you know it just hit me that my son didn't actually get along with your youngest son. So, I've never met your oldest... but will this work out you think? I don't want to make it any harder for him then it already is."

"Nonsense, Itachi can get along with anyone. He's a honest man."

Minato raised an eyebrow. It really didn't sound like he was a real Uchiha.

"Really Fugaku, thank you."

Again an awkward silence, as expected.

"Like back then, when you came all the from the city to fi-"

"Don't thank me for that. It was my job after all..." the Uchiha said with a serious tone. "The local police there really made a mess of it. If they were perhaps a bit faster they still co-"

It was instantly quiet on both sides. The blond knew he thought he went a bit too far, yet Minato didn't mind. "That time has passed..." Minato said sadly. "If I keep focusing on the past I will lose my son out of sight." Just the thought of it made his heart sting. But he had to let the past go. "What Kushina would want now is the best for her son."

"I understand," the dark haired man said eventually.

"I wonder how Naruto is going to react, and not to forget Kiba." This was definitely going to be very hard. If the Uchiha was right and Itachi was a good man, which was already hardly to believe, then Naruto wouldn't mind right? Maybe this was good for him. Naruto almost hung out every day with Kiba, maybe more social contact wouldn't hurt, right? Right? Minato wanted to groan. He just really wanted to convince himself.

"If Kiba is smart enough, he would agree to this after all... Kyuubi was very close yesterday night. He told us that." Fugaku said with a low voice.

"How do you really know it was really _him_? It could have been some kind of crazy old fool." Minato said hastily.

"Come on Minato, don't try to convince yourself. You know darn well that what Kiba described made it one hundred percent clear that it was him. "

The blond shivered and ran his hand through his hair. It could have already have ended yesterday night so why...?

"Then why didn't he grab his change?" he asked.

It was silent again before Fugaku finally answered. "... I do not know yet. I already thought it was weird in the first place. But this is for us to find out Minato. Let us do the investigation... If you worry any more, you probably will have a heart attack in no time." He muttered something like 'moron' but Minato could also have been mistaken.

The blond haired man snorted slightly. "It almost sounds as if you are worried about me?" he said, amused.

He heard the man tsk."UH! Like Hell I would!" Minato laughed again. Teasing the old man was actually kind of funny.

"So," Minato grinned. "Was this your idea or Mikoto's?" he joked.

It was quiet after he said Fugaku's wife's name. He only heard the Uchiha mumble something and then he hung up the phone. At that moment, Minato just had to smile.

* * *

Kiba looked shocked. "So this means...?"

"Yes that is exactly what it means."

It took a second before Kiba instantly stood up from his seat, looking furious. "What the hell are you doing? You actually want Naruto to believe that this is still a company marriage and now you want him to live with an _Uchiha_! Are you out of your mind? I tell you right here and right now that he's even safer here with me than with _those _people!" Kiba was panting again after his angry explosion.

After he calmed down, Minato began to speak again. "Fugaku said that Uchiha Itachi was an honest person, like I just told you. Maybe this can be good for Naruto. Think about that."

"_Good _for Naruto?" He repeated his words with much disbelief. "Uchiha Itachi an _honest _man? Are you kidding me? And you just believed Fugaku words? Just like that?"

"Yes. You may not know him as well as I do, but he actually is not that bad a man."

Kiba was becoming frustrated. "Ugh! Fine, suppose he is a good person." Kiba almost choked on the word 'good'. "But _Uchiha Itachi_... You'll make Naruto's life a living hell!"

"...It almost sounds that you know him personally? Is this true?"

"We-"

Kiba stopped abruptly. Oh no... This wasn't really happening right? He promised Naruto not to tell anything about what happened at the White Rose! If he would look at it that way, Naruto supposedly never had met him! Darn it this was such a mess! Why did this happen?

"...Well no," he said in defeat. "I just... sort of know."

He heard Minato sigh. "Just give him a chance Kiba."

The brunette growled. "And do you really know that he's going to agree to this?"

"…It will be difficult at the beginning but this is for_ his_ safety Kiba. Besides Itachi is part of the police. He would most likely know about the danger out there. "

Naruto was really going to hate his father for this. Kiba was one hundred percent sure of that. "How do you think Naruto would react if he hears he's going to live with him?"

"Kiba..."

"Yes, yes! I know! It would probably be the best for him right now. It's just that-"

"I know this will be hard, for the all of us. In the meantime, Fugaku will try to find more convincing evidence so he could lock up that man for good."

Kiba never truly knew what actually happened at the courtroom years ago. The only thing he did know were, again, only plain facts. At that time all the evidence pointed only at one suspect. And that was the man who called himself Kyuubi. Yet it seemed that wasn't enough, but it would be enough to hold him in prison a few years. Meanwhile, investigators tried to find more clues and tracks, but unfortunately they never found much then what they already had. So now he was innocent until proven guilty.

"Everything will change now," Kiba added softly.

Minato could only agree with him. "Yes." The blond looked outside at the sunless sky, finally seeing the bright stars. "_It definitely will_."

* * *

**A/N**

Alrighto! This was the longest chapter I have ever written.

And NO! For god sakes there will be no Minato/Fugaku pairing! They just are like... awkward friends. Get it? Friends. Well sort of...

Yes not much Ita/naru in this chapter, but no need to panic! It will be eventually. I just thought it was important to show a little bit more background because it was getting rather confusing...

Well it was rather confusing for me when I read the whole damn story again...

But I understand there is still much confusion on the murder Kyuubi right? Like why is Naruto in danger? He's got nothing to do with this he's just a innocent little boy...

Oh and yes Leafdale is their old hometown name.


	10. Chapter 10 The Test part 1

**Author:** M00nlight Shadow  
**Characters/Pairing:** ItaNaru and NaruSasu  
**Genre:** Romance/Humor/Drama  
**Rating:** M  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
**New summary:**  
Everything started with this ridiculous bet that was meaningless and childish. But now with a killer on the loose… maybe this bet could be taken as an advantage, after all Naruto needed all the protection he could get.

* * *

**Unexpected changes**

**Chapter 10 – The Test - part 1**

* * *

His legs were shaking, one hand playing nervously with his bracelet. Blue eyes weren't focused on his teacher or on the school board, but were looking outside. It really was a beautiful sunny day. The blond tried to calm down by looking at the clouds, but that failed miserably. The young man was nervous. He really was very nervous! It almost sounded so stupid! Why? Why was he so nervous? A sigh left his lips when he saw a pigeon land on a branch of the beautiful tree outside, next to his window. His eyes followed the bird, but his mind was still somewhere else at the moment.

"Naruto."

Time sure flies, Naruto thought silently. He really hadn't been looking forward to this day. Before he knew it, it was already Thursday. The day he had to go to work, not at the White Rose but at the well known first Sphinx building. The young man had to prove today that he could be a good employer again. Which was utterly ridiculous, because Naruto had not done anything wrong. Okay, so he almost beat the old man at the restaurant, but he really had asked for it! And he insulted his friend Sakura.

Now that he thought about it the blond really didn't regret charging at the old man like that, he'd deserved it. Still… because of him, he needed to go to… Naruto suddenly wanted to melt away, he wanted to disappear. He was going to see him again.

Uchiha Itachi.

Normally Naruto wouldn't mind. I mean it was just a silly test for only a few hours and then it would be over, right? It wasn't as if the world was going to end… right? His shaking legs and nervous hands probably did not agree with him. So why was he so nervous? Yes, Itachi was the biggest bastard he ever had met in his entire life, he was rude, and not to mention he lied to him. And worst of all he had to marry him…

"Naruto."

Naruto blinked and turned his head to his teacher, seeing Iruka's irritated look. Naruto mentally began to shrink. Damnit! He was so busy with his own thoughts that he missed everything what his teacher said for the past... how long has it been? The blond really needed to stop thinking about tonight and to start focusing on what was happening now.

He looked nervously around and saw that his whole class was looking at him. Kiba looked at him with an unreadable expression, which Naruto found very odd. Then again, Kiba had been acting a bit odd these past three days.

Three days ago, the day Kiba stayed over, he woke up from his nice sleep, of course he woke up late again and they were _again_ late for school… but just knowing that Kiba was near made him feel safe. When he opened his bedroom door he had seen Kiba sitting on the couch in, most likely, deep thought, since he didn't look up to greet him. When the blond stepped closer he could see Kiba had dark bags under his eyes, which Naruto found strange. He asked himself if his friend had hardly slept at all.

After Kiba noticed his friend looking at him with questionable eyes he smiled weakly at him. From that moment he had acted a little awkwardly. The brunette was quiet most of the time, even when he was known as the more talkative of the two. When Naruto asked him what could be possibly wrong he just shrugged and said that hadn't slept well because of the mosquitoes. Odd because Naruto had never have burden from mosquitoes. Maybe it was a private matter, or maybe he did have a bad morning, so Naruto just let it rest, knowing it would most likely pass. But it did not.

On the way too school, at school and the way back he was quiet, and most of the time in deep thought. When Naruto asked once what was wrong, Kiba just said he was fine. This had really bothered Naruto. Kiba was never usually like this.

The day after that, he had still acted pretty strangely. Something must have happened during that night, but that was impossible right? It was so confusing for the blond and he hated to feel so helpless. Kiba was always there for him when things went bad, like now for example… but now Kiba was so down and he couldn't do anything to cheer him up.

"You're finally back on earth?" the teacher said with sarcasm.

Naruto scratched the back of his head with his hand, which he almost always did when he was nervous, and laughed hollowly. "Yeah, sorry." That was all he could say after all.

The teacher sighed tiredly while he rubbed one of his temples. "Have you heard anything I been saying for the last forty minutes?"

_Forty minutes! _Wow, the time did indeed go fast. Naruto gave him just a small, shy small. "U- uhm well-… no," he confessed.

Some girls giggled softly while Iruka mumbled something between his teeth. "I'm supposed to give you a detention," he said slowly, "But since you're always the one who cleans the classroom after school…"

Some girls giggled again, this time a bit louder. Kiba became annoyed of the giggling sounds and grumbled something like 'shut up already' but Naruto wasn't sure of that. The blond sure noticed that his friend was rather moody today.

Iruka just continued with class and Naruto felt lucky he just let the issue drop.

He looked sideways to his friend. Naruto was determined to find out today what had made Kiba act like this and why. After school he would ask him directly. He was his best friend, and best friends help each other out.

* * *

Sasuke's onyx eyes were focused on the teacher, but once in a while he looked at the young blond student not far away from him. He was nervous, any fool could see that, and the dark haired student knew why. Today was the day Naruto had to go to his brother for some… test. It probably bothered the blond as much as it did his brunette friend. Kiba surely knew what was coming today. He was Naruto's best friend. If Naruto told him he must have already told the brunette. The dog lover looked annoyed today and even a little restless.

It somehow really irked him that his blond colleague needed to go to his brother. Sasuke still hadn't found out what his brother's intentions were and it was honestly creeping him out. He hated secrets.

Suddenly his thought were drawn back at the time he told him his story about this… arranged marriage. The blond boy had told him with an uncomfortable tone in his voice. Sasuke had also noticed that his eyes held a flicker of fear in them. At least, that was what Sasuke thought he saw.

He began to wonder what Itachi had actually done to him, not physically, but mentally. Somehow Naruto had changed a little since this bet all started. There used to be more fire in him, but now it had seemed the fire had been extinguished. Naruto seemed suddenly so fragile and even a bit scared. Was this his true self? Or was his brother the real cause of this? Sure Naruto told him the things that had happened at the restaurant he was working at, but did he say everything that had happened? Or did Sasuke just think too much?

God he really was thinking too much about it! He'd already slept terribly because of what was coming today. Why was he so restless about it? Why did he care! Sasuke closed his eyes and rubbed his temples slowly. When he opened his eyes he looked at the blond again, who was looking out of the window in deep thought, yet again.

He saw Naruto begin to play with his bracelet once more and frowned slightly. Naruto's behavior was making him nervous. God he really hated his brother… he didn't want to admit it out loud, but he was sort of worried. He didn't know why, but he somehow wanted to comfort Naruto, tell him that it was all going to be okay.

The young Uchiha blinked, completely stunned by his own thoughts. Worried? Comfort? He wanted to comfort Naruto? Not believing what he just thought a few seconds ago, he pitched his eyes close and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. Oh good lord… what was becoming of him?

* * *

Kiba waited in the car. He looked at his watch, knowing that Naruto would be done with cleaning soon. The brunette groaned in frustration. He wanted to punch himself for being like this. He had been such a dick these past three days. Naruto was trying to help him by trying to figure out why he was acting so moody all of sudden.

When he thought back to the moment his blond friend had asked him what was wrong, Kiba had just given him a simple excuse, and Naruto had looked down, knowing that his brunette friend had just lied again. Kiba wanted to pull his own hair out, but he just couldn't tell Naruto that he had to move in with that guy in the near future!

The brunette couldn't find a good way to tell him, because it didn't matter how you told him, Naruto would hate it either way. Kiba knew that. Naruto didn't like the guy anyway, and now he suddenly had to go live with him. Who would be glad to hear that?

After two days Kiba still could not find a way to tell him and it was annoying the hell out of him. Now Naruto thought there was something wrong. Damn, he'd really made a mess of this! His friend already had it badly and Kiba was only making it harder for him.

This was Kiba's last chance to tell him about moving in at the older Uchiha's home. But of course he had to make up a excuse why he had to move, which was impossible to come up with on the spot, because why would he unexpectedly need to move in at somebody else's place?

One of the last things Naruto's father had said, three days ago through the phone, was to fabricate a story quickly and make it believable. Fugaku had given them an option to let Naruto stay in a more secure place. The Uchiha was not in the mood for making up stories, so he'd let Minato handle that part. Of course Minato had asked for help from Kiba, since his best friend could tell him in a more easy going way. That failed of course. Neither he nor Minato had found a believable story yet.

Just a few pathetic stories sprung to mind, such as Minato had contacted Kiba to tell him that Naruto had to live with the older Uchiha as part of the bet. It would be like the divorce rule, which wasn't on the contract either and had been forgotten.

Kiba groaned again. God that was an utterly weak story! Maybe something like he thought it would be a good idea to live with him, because maybe the Uchiha wasn't as bad as he thought he would be…? So maybe they could be become good friends…?

Kiba slammed his fist on the wheel. Dear lord, that was even worse!

Why couldn't he make up a good, believable story! The brunette felt miserable. He was preparing to lie to his best friend again. Well, he had actually been lying to him for years…

Kiba sighed in defeat. He just couldn't do that to him, especially when he saw him acting so nervous today in class. It was obvious that he wasn't looking forward to this night and he couldn't blame him.

Yet… Kiba frowned. Fugaku certainly would have already told Itachi what the situation was one of the past three days. So the question was; would he act differently? By Naruto's knowledge he acted like a rude bastard at the White Rose, but he was an Uchiha. They probably had it in their genes.

Kiba looked outside, watching the traffic go crazy while thinking about the situation. Would Uchiha Itachi be kinder to him now? Would he treat him with a bit more respect now?

Kiba blinked suddenly, realizing that Itachi most likely had to sign the contract now. That meant he could no longer threaten Naruto by blackmail. After all, Uchiha Itachi was part of the police force and he would have to take this seriously now. After all, there was still a psychopath walking around in this city, at this very moment in fact. Just thinking about him was giving Kiba goosebumps.

Kiba blinked catching movement out of the corner of his eyes. His head turned left, noticing Naruto slowly walking to him. The look on his face made Kiba sigh in defeat. No, he just couldn't tell him. His friend already looked beaten and he was only making it worse. He had no intention of doing that. The brunette decided he would wait until this night was over. Maybe Naruto was making a big deal out of this. Maybe Kiba was making a big deal out of this. Maybe, or rather he hoped, that the older Uchiha would act differently from now on.

Kiba fiercely hoped so.

When Naruto was about to open the door of the car, he stopped abruptly, a bewildered expression on his face. He looked around, causing Kiba to sit there in confusion. It almost looked like the blond was looking for something.

"Something wrong Naruto?" he asked softly.

Naruto looked around again before he answered, "No, nothing." He opened the door and sat down in the leather chair. "Just a stupid feeling."

When Kiba looked at him with a worried look, Naruto smiled weakly at him. "It's nothing really."

The brunette looked at him for a second, analyzing his face, but after a while he gave up. "If you say so," he said eventually.

He started the car and drove away from the school. The way back in the car was mostly silent, which was odd, again, because they had always talked about something. Kiba tried to restrain himself from driving faster to let out some frustration. He looked to his left, seeing the blond looking forward, watching the traffic move. Gah, it was to quiet for his liking. They had to talk about something or Naruto would probably think that he was avoiding him or something.

When Kiba was about to say something to fill the silence, Naruto's phone rang. It caught them both by surprise. When Naruto searched his pocket and grabbed his phone, he looked at the display and saw the word 'Dad'. His father was calling again, as he always did after school. The blond looked nonchalantly at it and didn't make any movement to answer it.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you pick that up?"

Naruto shrugged. "No. I'm not in the mood," he said softly. After a while the phone stopped vibrating and the screen showed 'missed call.'

Kiba looked seriously worried now. "This is the third time you haven't picked up. Your father is going to be worried sick you know?"

Naruto sighed. "Yes I know it's just that-" he looked away. "I don't really feel like talking to him right now."

Kiba couldn't even imagine what Naruto's father was going through right now. Minato had said he'd feared this would happen. "Then at least send him a text message," he said after a while.

He saw Naruto bite his lip, clearly thinking about it. "Okay I will," he said, flipping his phone open and writing a message to his father.

Kiba smiled a bit. Hopefully Minato would be satisfied with his text message or else the elder blond was definitely going to call him in the evening again.

To Kiba's surprise, Naruto was quickly done and he began to wonder what his friend had sent.

When Kiba turned right at some point he heard Naruto mumble something. He looked to his left and saw Naruto frown at him. He wanted to say something, that was obvious to Kiba, but he was having difficulties saying it. And when he finally spoke he didn't expect to hear the words that came out of Naruto's mouth.

"I'm sorry," the blond said softly.

Kiba just looked dazedly at him. _What?_ he thought.

Naruto, on the other hand, continued, looking down. "A lot of damn things have happened these last few days and I know that I have been acting a bit isolated." He began to play with his bracelet again. "I have been thinking about myself the whole time and I became blind to others, like you-" He swiftly looked at him before looking down again. "Who maybe… is also having a difficult time too and-"

Kiba still looked shocked at Naruto while he rambled on and on. He was glad he had stopped for a traffic light or else he probably would have bumped into another car.

"I know I haven't been fair to you. You always listen to my wining complaints and I never really asked if you have some-" Naruto raised his head and looked at Kiba. "So please tell me what's bothering you! If it's my fault for being such a nuisance them I'm really-"

Oh god, this had to stop. Kiba wanted to hit himself again. Naruto had it so terribly wrong! How the hell could he blame himself for this? This wasn't Naruto's fault. This was his own damn fault not finding a simple story during the past few days.

_"Stop! Just stop it!"_ Kiba finally shouted out. He immediately regretted it because the way he had shouted sounded as if he was pissed off with Naruto. Naruto looked at him with surprised and shocked eyes. The brunette mentally slammed his head on the wheel. God he was such an idiot.

Kiba took a deep breath. "Sorry I didn't mean to say it like that." He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. "Naruto, I'm just making clear here that my behavior the last few days has got nothing to do with you. You're not to blame for it, alright?" he said careful not to hurt his friend anymore. Naruto looked still confused but he nodded slowly.

The traffic light turned green and Kiba slowly drove forward. "You already have a tough time dealing with this… situation you're in now," he said while picking up more speed. "I really would be a shitty friend to you if I ignored you now, right? So please don't mind me I-"

"But can you please tell me why you are acting so down all of sudden?" the blond interrupted. "You've been acting like this since Tuesday morning."

Kiba gritted his teeth, which of course Naruto noticed.

"Did… something happened that night?" It was a silly question of course. What could have possibly happen in those few hours?

When Kiba looked at him again their eyes met and he just knew he had to make up a lie again. "It's just a small thing. I got a call from a friend of mine and he was having a hard time with something-" It sounded so pathetic. He was really bad in making up stories. He could never be a writer that's for sure.

"And he asked me to help him with it, but I couldn't find a solution for him so we're both kind of stuck now." He looked at Naruto again. "So that's the short version of the story. Believe me, it's really not your fault okay?" He saw Naruto trying to let it all sink in. "I'm the one who's sorry. I have been sort of ignoring you because of this… stupid thing." He sighed. "I'm sorry."

Naruto smiled a little. "Don't be. And it's not a stupid thing, he's your friend right? Then it is important." He scratched the back of his head with his hand out of habit again. "Gosh I'm feeling like an idiot right now." He grinned shyly. "You really just could have told me, maybe I could help you with your friend's problem."

Kiba huffed. "You've got enough problems at hand." It was clear that he referred to tonight.

Damn... Kiba pinched his eyes closed, hoping that he hadn't ruined the mood. When he looked to his friend again he saw that Naruto just sat there with a goofy smile. "Oh well then, another one joining the bunch isn't that bad right? I'll get used to it," he said sarcastically.

Naruto suddenly seemed in a good mood. The blond was glad there was nothing wrong with his friend and he was happy he wasn't at fault. Just knowing that his friend was okay now did him well, even when he still had a long day ahead.

Kiba laughed softly at his friend. He had to admit that Naruto's moods could change just like the weather.

After a while, the tension was gone and they talked about some simple things. It took roughly twenty minutes until Kiba finally parked his car in front of Naruto's apartment. Even when his blond friend was in a good mood right now he just had to ask, "So are you going tonight?"

Naruto scratched his neck while looking troubled. "Yes I think so. I just want to get this over with." He stopped for a moment. "I just want to work at the White Rose again. I don't want to lose that job. I'll be a disappointment to Sakura and… to dad," he said sadly, though Kiba doubted that Sakura and his father would be disappointed at Naruto for such a stupid thing.

Naruto took a deep breath. "And I need to talk about this contract with Itachi." There he'd finally said his name. After the incident at the White Rose, he'd never said his name out loud. He'd named him by the words 'that man' or just 'him' or even 'person'. It would be childish to avoid speaking his name. Naruto just hoped that he would be a bit more civil now.

"Well anyway thanks for the ride!" Naruto announced rather cheerfully. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He was about to step out of the car when a hand touched his shoulder. Naruto turned his head to see his friend with a little smile on his face. "You know I could pick you up at nine o'clock?"

Naruto looked at him for a second before a smile appeared on his face. "You've already done so much for me. You really don't have to-"

Kiba quickly interrupted. "I_ insist_." Naruto looked a little stunned. "You're my best friend and you're having a tough time right now. Just see it as a making up act for being such an ass these past few days," Kiba explained. "So I'll be standing right behind you, supporting you. Besides," Kiba shrugged nonchalantly. "I've nothing better to do this evening."

Naruto looked at him with grateful eyes. Kiba really was the best friend you could have in the world. The blond grinned. "Okay," he said, seeing Kiba smile back at him. "But-" Naruto held up a forefinger. "You have to pick me up as well because daddy doesn't like it when his little boy goes back at night all alone," he said playfully.

Even when Naruto meant it like a joke, Kiba looked quite serious. "I intend to."

"Uh? Uh no, Kiba that was just a joke. The party will end very late. You don't have to stay up that late I'll take the-"

"Bus?" Kiba asked quickly before Naruto could finish his sentence. "The metro? Naruto they don't ride at that hour. So what else could you do, hm? Walk, since you don't have your bike anymore? And how long wouldn't it take until you are back home? Hours maybe? Not granted," he said dryly.

The blond looked defeated for a moment. "Damn… I didn't think about that."

"Of course you didn't," He playfully ran one of his hands through his hair. "Because I do the thinking work. You know that dumb blonds can't think that well."

Naruto punched him on the shoulder. "You're such an ass," the blond said with a small smile on his face.

Kiba grinned and just shrugged. "Well somebody's got to be the ass."

Naruto shook his head at his friend. "Thanks Kiba, I really owe you a lot."

Kiba just waved it away, "Nah, trust me you don't."

Naruto said his goodbyes and waved at Kiba when he drove away. His lips tucked into a small smile. Kiba was such an idiot sometimes. Still, he himself could be an idiot too. He mentally slapped himself. He had been planning on taking the bus back.

Really, now that he thought about it, he hadn't thought about how he was going to get back home. The blond was so focused on tonight that he hadn't thought about the situation after the party.

When Kiba was out of sight, Naruto suddenly froze. Immediately all the thin hairs on his body rose. There it was again, that cold feeling of someone watching him with a cold stare. He'd felt it after school when he was about to get into the car and, just like then, he rapidly looked around. There was nothing foreign around besides the traffic moving at great speed and, behind him, his own flat building. Naruto shook his head in dismay. He really wanted to say that it was just his imagination, but this had happened so frequently… Or was he really going nuts? Maybe it was stress or something…

Before he could think any more, it happened again. He felt as if needles were being stabbed into his body, all over. It really was such a cold feeling, even when it so warm outside.

Naruto couldn't move out of shock or rather, was it fear? Suddenly he felt nauseous and placed his hand on his stomach. The blond felt like his stomach was being turned over. What if he really was being followed? Who was it? And more importantly why?

The blond felt his heartbeat go nuts. He was scared, really scared… He felt like he was a deer in the headlights, not knowing how to react. Naruto felt alone and vulnerable, even though the streets weren't empty. His eyes moved from left to right, still not seeing anything suspicious. He somehow hoped that Kiba would turn back to him. He really didn't want to be alone right now.

He was so focused on everything around him that he gasped in shock when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Naruto jumped away, immediately turning around.

To Naruto's surprise he saw a familiar face, the doorkeeper of his flat. His name was André and Naruto had known him since he had moved here. He was a kind man. The older man, who was in his sixties, looked with concern to the young blond man. "Are you alright Mister Uzumaki?"

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed as the tension of his body flowed away. He was so glad to see a familiar face at the moment. "Yes, I'm fine thank you."

The older man nodded thoughtfully. "It looked like you were scared of something. When I saw you look around in panic I almost thought you were having a fit of some kind."

Naruto frowned. Did he really look like that? As if he was in panic? Just thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable again. He smiled weakly at the man while he spoke, "Ah, no it's nothing don't worry about it, but thanks again André."

He walked past the man toward the entrance.

"No problem Mister Uzumaki. Just tell me if there is someone bothering you so I can inform the security of it."

Naruto thanked him again. "Sure I'll remember it. Oh and like I said before, just call me Naruto. Mister Uzumaki is my father."

The older man smiled kindly at him. "I'll try to remember that Mister Uzumaki."

Naruto gave up with a defeated sigh; the man never learned. He quickened his pace towards the entrance. All he wanted to do was to get inside his apartment, lock the doors and all the windows and have a hot cup of chocolate to calm down.

* * *

It took every inch of willpower to restrain himself from snapping his cell phone in half. Minato shoved his phone to the corner of his desk so it would be safe from his wrath. The blond adult stood up from his chair and leaned against the window, trying to calm down. Through the window he had the most outstanding view, but even that wouldn't make him feel better.

His own son had been avoiding him for three days and he was worried sick about him. Was he alright? Was he eating well? Did his son hate him?

Minato placed his hand on his forehead. Of course Naruto hated him. He really wanted to see him, explain everything to him but he just couldn't. He just couldn't!

Maybe he should go to Naruto after his work. Though, it would take hours to get there, even if he went in his own car. He really disliked the traffic in the city. He really missed his old home in Leafdale, but at the same time he hated that place. He almost drifted away to the past again so he quickly shook his head. No, this was not the time for that. He needed to think about his son now. And even when Minato got home today, he would be arriving there late. Naruto would most likely be sleeping by then.

He sighed again. He really wanted it to be the weekend already so that he could see his son.

Then his phone began to vibrate for a second. Minato raised an eyebrow while he picked up his cell phone from his desk. The display showed, '1 message'.

Curious, he flipped his cell phone open and clicked on messages. He began to read, 'Hi dad I'm fine, I just don't feel like talking right now. I'll see you at the weekend, bye'.

Yes, there was certainly something going on. Naruto never sent text messaged. But Minato was glad he'd answered because, for a minute, he'd thought Naruto was never going to talk to him again. Still… why didn't he want to talk to him?

Minato blinked in realization that maybe Kiba had already told him about moving in at someone else's home! And not just anyone, but Sasuke's older brother. If Kiba had told Naruto, he probably thought that Sasuke's older brother was just as bad as him or even worse. Minato fiercely wished that what Fugaku said was true about Itachi. Even policemen could be total jerks, Fugaku was the living proof of that…

Yet, Naruto himself had never had met him, so maybe they were just judging too fast.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi, who had just walked out of the shower, entered his own living room with a white towel on his head. He was content that he was finally at his own apartment. Living with his little brother and old man was a real nuisance to him. Fine, the only thing he had promised to his mother was that he, once in a while, visited his little brother and father just to be social of course. Even when there was nothing to be social for… He barely saw his old man and Sasuke. So why would he even go back? He had better things to do, especially since his last phone call with his father.

After he'd tried to contact his father several times for answers about a certain case named '307', his father finally called back. And before the young man could question him, his father asked him for a favor, which was odd to start with. His old man never asked for favours. He mentally shrugged and decided he would hear him out and then ask his own question about this case.

To his complete surprise Fugaku asked, always right to the point, if Itachi could let Uzumaki Naruto move in at his place. As expected it was silent for a while. To Fugaku's knowledge Itachi had never met the boy. And Itachi sure wasn't going to tell him he was wrong. He thought back when he was on the phone with his father.

_-earlier-_

It was Itachi who eventually broke the silence. "Why?" It was just a logical question after all. He decided to make a wild guess. "Could it be that this has something to do with the case 307?" he questioned with a serious tone.

He probably hit the jackpot because it was quiet again after that. He heard his father sigh through the phone. "Well it was probably already expected that you looked through the files of the Uzumaki family. Let me guess, the reason you called several times was because you couldn't get access through the files, am I right?"

"That is correct," Itachi said shortly.

"Okay I'll tell you what, I'll make a deal-" Itachi mentally rolled his eyes. Here we go again. "If you let the boy stay with you for… a while I'll give you the access code of case 307, deal?"

Again silence filled the room. But he was used to it now. They never talked that much with each other after all. Itachi's ears picked up mumbling sounds through the phone before his father spoke again. "Look I know you favour your own personal space..." he took a deep breath before he continued, "But trust me the kid needs the extra surveillance."

Itachi blinked. Surveillance? "You mean the surveillance system that people with a higher rank receive?"

Fugaku hummed. "Precisely."

The younger Uchiha didn't like where this was going. Not a single bit. "Tell me the truth now father. I don't appreciate being left out in the dark," he replied coldly.

When Itachi heard no reply, he decided to question him. He'd waited a long time for answers and he wanted them now. "Answer these questions for me or I will not welcome Uzumaki Naruto to my home; why can't I have access to the 307 case file? Were you taking part in that case?" Though somehow Itachi already knew that his father participated in that case. "Why was Uzumaki Naruto's mother murdered? Was this marriage thing already set up long ago in order to receive the surveillance system?"

Fugaku wanted to groan. He really felt like a criminal being questioned right now. "And more importantly, why does Uzumaki Naruto need the surveillance system? Is his life in danger?" He paused for a second. "He could not possibly have done anything disturbing back then. He was just a four-year-old child." And for Itachi that could mean a few thing like an act of revenge or even worse...

There were a lot of questions with very long answers, but Itachi thought that these were the most important things he needed to know right now. He had still a lot of other things to discuss about but that would have to wait.

After that, his father decided to tell him the truth. He told him of the case that took place years ago. Fugaku remembered that day like it was yesterday. He started at the beginning when Minato called him and asked for his help.

Itachi listened silently, not interrupting his father.

The dark haired man sat himself on the large sofa and enjoyed the beautiful view he had. For a moment Itachi just sat there staring out of the window while he was in deep thought. It had indeed been a long story his father told him a while ago. Still, his old man refused to give him the access code until the boy really had moved in. Damn his father…

Fugaku told him the basic facts and the most important things. One of the things that was left out was the reason and the cause of murder of Uzumaki Kushina. Itachi was told that all the information was in that file but now he just had to wait patiently. It was his case now after all.

But this certainly had been a big surprise. The Uchiha remembered the day at the White Rose when he first met Uzumaki Naruto. Through his eyes, he just looked like a common teenager with a shy, but sometimes fierce, personality. Never in his life would he have thought that this boy's family as himself had such a tragic past. Life was indeed full of surprises.

What also surprised him was that Naruto's best friend, 'Kiba', also knew of this matter and was trained as his protector. Itachi knew Kiba's older sister Hana. He'd worked with her in some cases. Hana was a real workaholic when it came to work, but she was also a really good police officer and Itachi didn't say that often, which said something about the thirty-three year old woman. If this Kiba guy had the same spirit and will as her, then Naruto was a lucky person.

But it sort of dazed Itachi that the most important person in this 'case' did not know what was going on around him. Uzumaki Naruto was kept in the dark because apparently his father just wanted him to have a normal lifestyle. So he told him that his mother passed away because of a traffic incident. Maybe Uzumaki Minato just acted paranoid. It was really cruel in some way.

Everyone who was close to him knew more about him then he knew about himself. And now Itachi knew his past and the reason why his father and Naruto's father wanted Naruto to move in with him. Itachi huffed. It began with a ridiculous bet and now look how this could be an advantage for the boy.

Still, if it was true what his father said, that the murderer of Uzumaki Kushina was now walking around freely without surveillance or any kind of supervision, it was extremely dangerous. Itachi's father was responsible for the murderer's supervision, but in a small amount of time he'd lost the suspect. He remembered his father's voice when he confessed that he lost track of him, he'd really sounded upset. Itachi couldn't blame him, since there was a chance that he would strike again and if that would happen all the eyes would be looking at him since he was the responsible one.

He mentally complimented the people who were able to keep this quiet from the media. Normally all the newspapers would announce that there was a suspect of murder on free feet without any surveillance. That would be a direct hit for the police force. Itachi had to accept that this killer was a really dangerous one, since even his own father feared that Uzumaki Naruto life was in danger, even though he already lived in a high security apartment. The Uchiha was getting more curious by the second. Somehow he just had to know. He disliked hearing only half of the whole story. The only thing his father said about the killer was his name.

He narrowed his eyes. "…Kyuubi," he whispered to himself. It sounded strangely familiar to him.

Who was he? What was his past? Why did he sound so familiar? Why had he murdered Uzumaki's wife and why was Naruto's life now suddenly in danger? These were the questions that were still unanswered and his father refused to answer them.

But the message his father had sent him was clear from the start. Protect him.

Knowing that he would soon to be part of case 307, or rather that he already was part of the case, the young man made up his mind. He would see this marriage to be part of this case. But Naruto may never know of this.

The dark haired man couldn't explain why, but he almost couldn't wait to see the blond boy again. He could remembered his pouting, shy face and his surprise, embarrassed expression. Usually he forgot any unimportant face like his. At that time he still was a silly young boy with a big mouth, but for some reason his face had remained in his head.

The party didn't mean anything to him anymore. Itachi just wanted to find out more about this case and Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

Naruto looked around him, finding the lobby - which he had seen a thousand times already- suddenly very interesting. It was getting dark outside and as usual the orange sky looked beautiful.

The truth was, Naruto just wanted his mind to be occupied with something else then focusing his thoughts about tonight or… He gulped. His stalker. The blond just couldn't find another word for it. Maybe, well he actually hoped, it was really his imagination or maybe even stress. Still it was weird that everytime he felt that icy feeling of being watched, he could not move! As if his body was frozen! It scared him so much that even a warm cup of cocoa did not help. Even now while he tried his best to think about something else his mind wandered back at those times he felt like he was being watched. Naruto scratched his nose. Maybe he needed a psychologist or something… The young man mentally shook his head. No they would declare me nuts in no time! That's for sure.

Naruto nervously looked at his watch, knowing that Kiba would arrive soon, he hoped. He had purposely waited inside, fearing that he would have that feeling again. No way he would wait alone outside now!

He let out a small growl of frustration. This was so annoying! He felt vulnerable, weak and was scared enough to wait inside. It was so childish and not to mention uncool. How old was he again? Oh yeah, nineteen! Yes nineteen! And he was afraid to wait outside, even when it was a few steps from the building! God he felt like a pathetic teenage girl right now!

The blond scratched the back of his neck and sighed in defeat. Fine… He wouldn't deny it. Let him act like a scared girl this once…

Suddenly his ears picked up the sound of a hooting car and Naruto immediately knew that it was Kiba. Without thinking about his fear, Naruto sprinted towards the door. It didn't take long when he was outside, when he spotted Kiba's car. Again he sprinted to the car and opened it, jumped in and closed it with one swing, only to get a frown from his friend.

"Hey hey! How many times I need to tell you? You break, you pay."

Naruto just smiled shyly at him. "Sorry."

Kiba looked at him for a second with worried eyes. "You okay? You look a little pale."

Naruto shrugged weakly. "No I'm fine."

His friend pressed his lips into a thin line, obviously not believing him. "Okay, I'm just somewhat tired, that is all, jeez," Naruto said quickly.

Again Kiba looked suspiciously at him, making the blond sigh with a slight frustration. He really didn't want to be asked questions right now. "Please just drive Kiba, I don't want to be late."

This time Kiba sighed. "Fine have it your way." Before the brunette pushed on the gas pedal, he cleared his throat while looking ahead of him. "But I'm here if you need me." He paused for a moment and scratched his neck. "And if you don't feel comfortable tonight you can call me, I'll pick you up in no time," he added softly.

Naruto looked at him and suddenly grinned. Kiba really was a softy sometimes.

When Kiba finally looked at his friend he saw his friend grin at him. "What?" he asked, annoyed. It was clear that he was slightly embarrassed from his own words.

Naruto just smiled at him. "Yes mom," he said jokily.

* * *

Again his nerves kicked him when he opened the car door. Naruto slowly got up from his seat and was immediately greeted by the enormous building right in front of him. He gulped and noticed his throat was dry. Damn.

When Naruto looked up he could easily read 'Sphinx' in big blue shining letters. He had to go all the way to the 37th floor, the highest floor of this building. After a moment, his neck began to feel stiff by looking up the whole time. He began to wonder what it was like to work so high from the ground. What kind of party was this actually? The blond had never thought about it before. Just thinking about made his stomach turn around.

It took him a few seconds before he heard Kiba called his name. "Yo Naruto, you alright?"

Naruto blinked and then turned his head to his friend, giving him a fake smile. "Yeah, perfectly fine," he said with a shaky voice.

Kiba could do nothing but sigh. "You'll be alright Naruto. You worry too much kiddo."

Naruto actually didn't agree with him this time. That's easy for you to say…

Awkwardly Kiba cleared his throat. "Well I'll be going then… Uh, well like I said before you can call me if that guy is being a trouble for you."

"Yeah, thanks Kiba. I own you one," he said softly.

Kiba huffed at his words. "You own me more than one."

"Hehe… Well yeah sorry…"

The brunette waved his words away. "Don't worry about it."

Naruto saw his friend hop into the car and gave him a little wave before he drove away.

Suddenly Naruto realised he was standing there alone again. Naruto's mind went back from the experience he had only hours ago when he felt he was frozen to the ground in fear. His heart automatically began to beat harder and faster just by the thought of it. The young man really did not want to feel like that again at the moment, so he quickly moved to the entrance of the Sphinx building. It was quiet, to his relief, when he got inside. Blue eyes noticed other people, probably also waiters and other staff, who were checking in at the desk.

Naruto looked at his watch and saw it was already half past nine, which meant he only had thirty minutes to get ready. It wasn't that crowded. Most of the staff would already be on the 37th floor, because having thirty minute left wasn't that much. The blond mentally slapped himself. Darn it! I should have gone earlier…

While he walked towards the desk, he began to wonder how this thing worked. He'd seen that there were two desks. One smaller one, which was probably for the staff and a bigger one, that most likely was for the guests this evening. Naruto spotted a few young men and women who were being given their working clothes at the smaller desk and later on they would step into an elevator. Naruto frowned. So I guess I will have to change upstairs? He thought wearily.

While he was waiting behind a few people he decided to look around. The lobby was very big, bigger than lobby of his apartment, yet instead of an old fashion homey touch, this place feel quite modern. It didn't have the nice warm yellow-orange color it did have back home, instead he saw a lot of white, blue and glass around him. Because of the glass the space looked a lot bigger than it actually was, even the desks were made of transparent glass so you could see the woman sitting right behind him, which was kind of odd to Naruto. He'd never seen that kind of desk.

He also spotted men in black who were standing and walking all over the place. The blond presumed that they were the security staff. Once in a while they raised their hands to their ears and said something into their receivers, just like in the movies. Damn, now that he looked around, he noticed that the security was really tight. What kind of party was this anyway?

But the most eye-catching things in the lobby were the aquariums that were as tall as the walls in the hall. Naruto could only stare at them with an open mouth. The only colorful things on this floor were the magnificent plants and fish, who were swimming in the aquariums. It really was a beautiful sight. The blue-ish light that came from the aquarium gleamed on the shiny white tiles on the floor, making dancing motions on the tiles. It was truly hypnotizing to watch. The beautiful moving lights on the tiles were distracting him so much that, yet again, he didn't hear a feminine voice calling his name.

"Can I help you, sir?" a young black-haired woman behind the desk repeated tiredly.

Naruto jumped in surprise and looked at the woman. "Oh, I'm sorry I was just-"

"Distracted by the lights…" she finished with a tired sigh. "Yes, that happens a lot here."

Naruto just looked at her with an apologetic look.

She waved it away. "Don't worry about it," the woman said plainly. "Anyway, what is your name?" she asked, typing something on her computer.

"Oh, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto saw her typing his name and he expected that she just would give him an 'alright' and pass him the working clothes he needed, but of course it's not as if he was having a good day…

Her blank face turned into a deep frown. And that of course wasn't a good sign. Well that was at least what Naruto had expected. When she shook her head and tried again she probably got the same results. Then she looked up from her screen and looked at him.

"I'm afraid you're on the wrong line sir." She said sweetly.

Naruto frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Well this desk is only for the staff crew for this evening-"

"I know," he interrupted her. "I'll be working here as a waiter tonight."

The young woman looked confused when she looked at her screen again. "But it says here that you're not on the waiter list but on the VIP list," she said with an uncertain voice.

Naruto was dumbfounded. "What?" he said in disbelief. "Then there must be a mistake, I'm really here to do my job as a waiter, because…" Naruto struggled for a second to find his words. "Because Uchiha Itachi personally requested me to do so not that long ago. "

There was a silence after that and Naruto could feel eyes boring into the back of his neck. The people behind him were getting impatient, he could feel it. God, why did this always have to happen to him? Bad luck was apparently his best friend. At that moment Naruto just wanted to go home and rest. He'd really had enough of this.

"Just a moment then," the black-haired woman said eventually. "I have to make a phone call first."

Naruto nodded thankfully and watched the desk woman push a few buttons, waiting until the other line was picked up. Fortunately she did not have to wait long.

"I have a young boy here in front of me who claims to be a waiter for this evening, but on my computer it says that he's a VIP."

Naruto waited patiently, wondering who she was talking to.

"Uzumaki Naruto is his name," she said quickly, looking at her screen. "Yes." She nodded. "Yes. Of course sir." Then she hung up and typed something before looking up to Naruto.

"Well you're a special case he says, so-" Naruto blinked. _Special case? Don't tell me…_ He sighed. The one she had called was definitely Itachi.

"You can take the elevator, stop on the 36th floor, walk straight and take the second door," she told him strictly.

Naruto, who was very confused at the moment, gaped at her. "Wha..? but isn't this thing on the 37th floor?"

"Yes, but his office is on the 36th floor, since the 37th floor is only used for certain events."

The blond's stomach turned once again. "And by him you mean…"

"Yes, Uchiha Itachi."

Again he felt nauseous. "B-but why?" he stuttered.

The woman looked bored and shrugged. "I don't know, it was his request."

The young man looked completely hopeless right now. What the hell was going on now?

Naruto thanked the woman and was about to turn around when something jumped into his mind. "What about my working clothes?"

Without looking from her screen she answered him. "He has them," was all she said.

Naruto, who already was totally confused, wanted to drop on the floor. What the hell? This wasn't making any sense at all! He wanted to pull his hair out and call Kiba to pick him up already… Ugh the temptation was to do so was massive.

God that man had done this to annoy him… And he'd succeeded alright.

Once Naruto got into the elevator, he pushed the number 36. It took a while to get there and the more floors he went up, the more nervous he got. When he heard a 'ting', the elevator doors slowly opened in front of him.

Once again his feet felt like rocks, he honestly didn't want to meet Itachi again. When the elevator was about to close, Naruto automatically reacted and jumped forward, just in time before the doors closed behind him.

_That was close..._

The young man looked around, seeing the same shiny white tiles there had been downstairs. Naruto could swear that he couldn't detect a single hair or dust on the floor. In a way it scared him, the fact that everything was so neat and clean. The corridor he walked along was almost large enough to be considered a hall. This time there were just normal white walls with some artwork dotted around.

He did what the woman told him to do walked straight ahead. It wasn't long before he stood in front of the second door. Naruto stood there for a moment… or more like a while.

The blond tutted softly. _Come on Naruto, just stay calm and collected_, he told himself, knowing that calm and collected wasn't his thing at all... _Don't let him get under your skin! Just play polite and do this so you can go home._

Yet he knew that this wasn't going to be his last time meeting Itachi especially since he had to marry this guy. The blond just really, really hoped that his personality wasn't like it was at the White Rose, but that was impossible he guessed. Personalities didn't change that quickly.

Naruto looked at his watch; it was almost time and yet he still stood there like a frozen monument. He took a deep breath, raised a hand and knocked on the door three times.

Immediately, he heard a reply. "Come in."

* * *

Sasuke repeatedly tapped his fingers on his desk. He looked at the college book that lay in front of him with disinterest. They had a test next week and the youngest Uchiha always started revising week before the test. He just had to read it once to understand the subject matter, but Sasuke couldn't seem to find the concentration to read, let alone learn. He had been sitting since... well he couldn't remember the exact time.

He continued tapping his fingers on his desk and after a while he added the other hand…

Just like that, Sasuke had had enough and suddenly shoved all of the objects on his desk onto the ground.

Bewildered by his own actions, Sasuke looked at the floor with wide eyes. It shocked him that he'd actually done that… He almost never lost his cool, except when he was highly irritated. What had made him react this way? The dark haired man growled in frustration because he didn't need to act stupidly. He knew why he'd reacted like this.

It just bothered him so much; not knowing what would happen at that party tonight. And for some reason he just wanted to bite his nails off. His brother was, in his eyes, one hell of a bastard! And now, because of this marriage thing going on, Itachi was, he assumed, busy with this whole situation. In other words he would be busy dealing with Sasuke's classmate.

God that just sounded so wrong.

Sasuke stood up and walked to his bed, only to let himself fall on it.

Fine. He admitted that he was sort of worried about Uzumaki Naruto because Sasuke knew how intimidating and threatening Itachi could be around people, especially the ones he disliked.

Someone probably like… Sasuke closed his eyes. _Someone like that annoying blond perhaps?_

For once he decided to do something completely out of character. He took his cell phone out of his pocket and started typing. When he was done, he looked at the little display for a moment, deciding if he would send it or not. After three minuteshe pressed the send button and let out a sight, hoping that Itachi would listen to him.

"Go easy on him."

When the young man closed his phone and lay it beside him on the bed, he immediately regretted sending the message.

Sasuke placed his arm behind his head and placed the other on his face to cover his eyes. God he was such a fool.

* * *

Naruto swore that this really was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life… When Naruto had opened the door he was greeted with blinding light at first, but when his eyes adjusted, he saw silhouette that definitely was from a man and something that most likely was a desk. Aside from that, his attention was immediately drawn to what was behind that person.

It was no secret that the aquariums on the ground floor were marvelous, but this just made his jaw drop on the floor.

The whole wall behind the desk was made of glass and, behind it, was a stunning aquarium with the most exotic plants and fish he had ever seen. On top of that the room was large and high, meaning that it almost looked like you were in the aquarium yourself. And just like on the first floor, he saw the most beautiful light that came from the aquarium dancing on the white floor. It wasn't only blue-ish, but colorful at some points due to the fish and plants. This whole room was like a piece of art. It was phenomenal, magical and enchanting. The young man could easily stare at it for hours.

Being completely dazzled by the dancing movements in the room, he almost completely forgot what he was there for. The blond blinked, suddenly realising that he had been completely rude. His blue eyes looked at the silhouette, which was quickly changing into a very well-known figure to him.

Uchiha Itachi was standing with his back to him. Even when Naruto knew who it was he still slightly widened his eyes when the young dark haired man slowly turned around to face him. While he did that, Naruto - just like before - could do nothing but stare. Just the whole sight of the aquarium, which was gleaming into the room and also on Uchiha Itachi, made him look like a mystical creature, made it all look like mesmerizing and dazzling. It was like some sort of a fairy tale picture he saw right before him. He didn't want to admit it but it was just… wow…

It almost felt like dream. The lights were so soft and nice…

But he was about to get a reality check.

It all shattered when he saw the tiniest hint of a smirk on the man before him. Even thought he still looked… well, you know good with the background scene and all…

_Oh darn it…_ He mentally shook his head_. Stop it!_

"I see you haven't changed much."

Naruto blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Like before," the older man explained, slowly turning around to face him. "It's still impolite to stare."

Just like that, he began to feel infuriated again with just a few words that came from Itachi's mouth. Of course he remembered the first day they had met and knew that he said something about how it was impolite to stare. The blond was already upset and Itachi probably saw it on his face because his tiny smirk increased a bit more.

Unaware of it, Naruto turned his hands into tight fists, resting against his side. This man was going to be his spouse for a while and he wasn't looking forward to it at all. He had been fooled by him from the start and he was clearly enjoying taunting him! This man was just there to make him feel small and useless… Like he had just now with only a few words! Just the way he said those words… Gah!

Itachi noticed the boy's body turn a little tense, as if he was ready to defend himself or something. He wouldn't have it. "You can relax Naruto."

Naruto looked at him for a while before he slowly relaxed his hands. _Of course… Calm down Naruto! Calm down. You're making a scene_, he thought silently.

Getting a little awkward now, since it was rather silent in the room, Naruto decided to speak. "Uh, I-I need my working clothes… and uhm..." God why was he so nervous! "And the woman on the ground floor said I had to come up here to get them, which I don't entirely get and then there's also the VIP thing I don't understand since I'm not-" Oh great… now he was rambling! Of course Itachi already knows that. I mean he was the one who requested him to meet him here.

After that he just abruptly stopped talking, knowing that everything that came from his mouth would be rubbish anyway. He mentally cursed himself. Why the hell was he is so nervous around this guy!

Feeling very disappointed and mad at himself at the moment, he looked down. Damn he really felt like a fool right now. The blond just wanted to die.

…Especially when he heard him chuckle. "You really are," a pause, "Something special."

Naruto looked up after hearing that, meeting Itachi's eyes… and smirking. The blond bit on his lower lip, feeling intimidated by the gaze of the Uchiha's eyes and turned his eyes away. He really did hate those eyes.

Itachi, who was clearly amused by the scene before him, decided the give it a miss, even when he was tempted to tease the boy more to see his cheeks glow from embarrassment. There were more important things to do from now on.

The Uchiha reached to the pile of clothing on the desk. "These are your working clothes. I called you here because my assistant for this evening called in sick," he said while slowly walking to the blond stopping in front of him. "You are to fill his place," he said boldly.

Naruto, who was shocked about the turn of events, furrowed his eyebrows. "B-but," he began to stutter slightly, but he didn't know whether it was because he didn't have a good answer or because he was standing so god damn close! "I can't be a assistant, I'm a waiter I can't be a assistant I-I don't know how-"

"You will do fine," was all he said, yet Naruto wasn't convinced at all. He even looked kind of scared. Itachi almost pitied him.

"The fitting room is on the 30th floor," Itachi said while he handed Naruto the clothes, which the boy took slowly from his hands. To the blond's surprise, it looked like an expensive black suit with a tie. Naruto gaped at it. He'd never worn something like this before. He didn't even want to know how expensive this suit was. This made him really feel uncomfortable.

"But wha-"

"Later," the Uchiha interrupted him. Ignoring the boy's pout, the man looked at his watch. "You have ten minutes Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uh but-"

"Later," Itachi repeated. He turned around towards his desk, leaving the bewildered blond in his place. "If I were you I would make haste," he said eventually, making the boy jump in surprise. Itachi turned to face the boy again, his lips turned again into a tiny smirk. "Nobody appreciates latecomers."

Yup he had done it again. Naruto gritted his teeth, obviously mad at hearing those words. "Fine!" he finally blurted out before turning around and smashing to door behind him as he walked out.

Itachi just looked at the door where the boy had just left and eventually turned to look at the enormous aquarium. "Something special indeed..."

Suddenly he heard his cell phone beep. Itachi reached into his pocket and flipped his phone open. To his utter surprise, he saw he had received a text message, which he hadn't received before. Itachi only used his cell phone to call, not for text messages. But what surprised him more was who the message was from. His eyes gazed at the little display for a moment, reading the name Sasuke.

This was certainly odd to him.

He opened the message and instantly the corner of his lip tucked up. 'Go easy on him.'

Well well… Looks like his little brother had a soft spot for the boy after all.

* * *

**A/N**

First of all I want to thank those for all the new 'alerts' and 'favorite story' !

It makes me really happy!

But can you guys do something for me? It's true that I'm finally continuing this story but I'm writing this without an actually ending in my mind… So I'm just writing whatever seems nice… you know; go with the flow or something… -hehe…-

So I'm asking for your opinion!

What is missing in this story and what would be nice to add? More characters or less? Is it still interesting? Is it going too slowly?

I know I'm being very annoying, but it's really important for me to know how this story is coming along for 'my readers'.

It's not the most well written and detailed story I know that… -cries in corner- but I'm learning!

So leave a review!


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